Ryakudatsu Muyo: No Need for Piracy
by Pardus Ardens
Summary: How can things change when a new danger appears in the galaxy! Based mostly on the Manga storyline, with some liberties. The M rating is for a few brief limeish scenes, language, and violence. Last Update: 04 18 2006
1. Sekimu Muyo

Chapter I  
**Sekimu Muyou  
(No Need for Obligations)**  


_ "Oh! Duty is an icy shadow. It will freeze you. It cannot fill the  
heart's sanctuary."  
-- Augusta Evans (1835–1909), American writer._

The sun rose resplendent over the treetops to the east, as it did on any other clear morning, but it brought little refreshment this day to the dark-haired woman watching its rays spill into her room. She had slept poorly, waking earlier than she usually would, and even that had been an hour past. The bright sunbeams playing through her window were met with precious little welcome, for it was a day the woman dreaded. It was the day she was expected to return home.  
_Expected? Perhaps "obligated" would be a better word_, she mused.  
_Or "bound."_  
_Bound, hand and foot._  
She frowned mildly at the light and shook her head, silently chastising herself for following such a childish train of thought. For all her appearance of youth, she was perhaps the fourth oldest person on Earth, and she had too many obligations to carry on entertaining such complaints.  
_Obligations_, she thought. _How long have I avoided my obligations that I might stay here? I must stop being so selfish! I am beginning to sound as if that slattern were rubbing off on me!_  
She shivered in quiet revulsion at the idea and stood from her bedside, organizing her thoughts. She was due to leave in early afternoon, so there was no terrible rush; Ryuu-Ou was already repaired, thanks to the aid of the scientist Washuu, and was ready for the trip; the Guardians Azaka and Kamidake were on the starship's bridge, dutifully awaiting departure. She reminded herself that she was by no means being sent into exile--at full speed, it would be only a little more than two weeks before she returned. The sole concession she had managed to wrangle from her father, the Emperor, was to hold the conference at the nearest civilized world to Earth; the only reasons she won that concession were because of her mother's support and the fact that the world was a relatively popular resort planet near the outer spiral arms among which Earth lay.  
Her train of thought derailed at the sound of a knock on the door.  
She paused briefly to collect herself before answering. "Ah, yes?"  
"Aeka-neesan," called a young girl's voice from the hall, "it's almost time for breakfast! You're okay, right? You're usually up and about, by now..."  
Aeka smiled softly to herself at the sound of her dutifully warm-hearted younger sister. "Yes, Sasami, I am quite all right. I have just been thinking about things... I promise I will not be late for breakfast."  
"Okay, Aeka-neesan! I'll see you down there!"  
Aeka let her mind wander back to her thoughts as the sound of Sasami's eager footfalls died away down the hall and she set about neatening herself up to face the day.  
The planet Earth, Aeka knew she would not miss terribly. Although it did have some lovely trees, a few of which reminded her of those on Jurai, when considered on the whole, she could call the world nothing more flattering than "quaint." The place was abhorrently technologically backwards, much of the planet was outright barbaric, and she found that part of her even missed the attention generated from any public appearance of the royal family back in civilized parts of the Empire.  
A number of the others there, she knew she would miss more--her long-lost brother Yosho, despite the surprise of his advanced age; Mihoshi's endearingly harebrained antics; the scientist Washuu's creations, which were from time to time both fascinating and practical; but especially her dear Lord Tenchi. Her younger sister would be coming with her, and she worried briefly for how the girl would take to the separation from her new friends, but quickly reassured herself that any upset would be outweighed by the joy of their parents' company. For these things, her temporary departure frustrated her, but she was certain it was nothing she couldn't handle. Something else, however, had been quietly grating at her nerves while the day of her departure drew nearer.  
Sixteen days away from Earth was no trouble at all.  
Sixteen days without Lord Tenchi, she could tolerate.  
Sixteen days spent too distant to keep that licentious hussy Ryoko **_off_** of Lord Tenchi, however, was another matter entirely. As sure as Aeka was of Lord Tenchi's moral fiber, she couldn't help but fear what such a woman's wiles could do to him if he were left so unprotected. Thoughts of legends of seductive demons taking the form of beautiful women to lure brave samurai to certain death--or worse yet, enslavement--danced through her mind. Her brother's lack of interference and her sister's fondness for the demoness added to her frustration, but she couldn't bring herself to directly question her brother's wisdom or to begrudge her sister a friend (however mangy) so long as it wasn't too dangerous an association. That left Aeka herself as Lord Tenchi's first and most potent line of defense against Ryoko, the Demon Spoiler of Princes. Even in normal circumstances, she would be reluctant to depart his company even for a matter of days; the thought was made only more abhorrent by the presence of such a malignant beast as the space pirate responsible both for assaulting Jurai and drawing away Yosho. Aeka's half-brother, the greatest knight in the empire's history, had grown old and decrepit in his lengthy sojourn on Earth, all because of Ryoko's rash and destructive actions of centuries past.  
_No more childish bellyaching_, Aeka reminded herself sternly. _You are the Crown Princess of the Royal House of Jurai, and you have duties to uphold, which must take precedence over your personal desires. You will just have to trust Lord Tenchi to take care of himself for a little while; perhaps with just a little help from providence and the grace of Lady Tsunami._  
She smiled wanly, pausing to offer a silent prayer to Tsunami, the Goddess who gifted the Juraian royal family with the power to rule its empire, and then stepped out into the hall. She had promised not to be late for breakfast, and she looked forward to what time she had left before her imminent departure.  
"Morning, **_Princess_**," was the first thing Aeka heard after the sough-and-tap of her door closing. Even if she hadn't recognized the voice, the sneering purr with which her title was pronounced would have given away the identity of the one speaking to her. She could hear in the tone of the infamous outlaw's voice her snide smirk , the bestially predatory glint in her eyes, the ungraceful slant of her posture; Aeka fought briefly with herself to maintain her composure and quell the urge to lash out in reaction.  
"Good morning to you, Ryoko." Her reply was with carefully measured politeness, as it was not appropriate that she should bring herself down to the same level of disrespect, however much that woman might deserve it. Even so, she couldn't help but frown as she cast her eyes over to see the pirate leaning casually against the frame of her door, her carriage just as indolent expected; she must have been waiting there, lying in wait for the princess to step out of her room, so as not to miss even one moment of opportunity to mock her. The thought was infuriating--had this woman no sense of propriety?! "Must you stand there, looking so self-satisfied?!"  
Ryoko laughed with amusement, clasping her hands behind her head and watching Aeka askance as though the princess weren't quite worth the effort of turning her head and disrupting her relaxed position. "Self-satisfied? How could I be **_self_**-satisfied, Princess? It's not **_my_** fault you're going to be lightyears away for a couple weeks. I just came up here to reassure you that Tenchi's going to be safe; **_you_** won't be here, but I promise I'll take **_reeeally_** good care of him."  
Aeka's skin crawled at the thought, and she glared, forgetting about her intent to keep up a show of civility. "Ryoko! Whatever you may be planning, don't you even dare! I'll... I'll have you brought up on charges of assaulting a member of the royal family, if I find out you've been throwing yourself at Lord Tenchi in my absence!"  
"Hahahah!" The pirate clasped her hands fretfully, brow knit in melodramatically tearful distress, and cried out woefully, "Oh, no! Not a felony charge!" She dropped the act again just as quickly, falling back once more against the wall as she broke out into uproarious laughter.  
"Bwahahaha... you really crack me up, you know that? I'll miss having you here to keep me laughing; then again, I've got a feeling Tenchi's gonna keep me doing something **_else_**..." As she trailed off, she grinned widely with a gratuitous display of sharp, predatory teeth.  
Aeka glared a moment longer in indignance, then turned on heel with a huff. "Mark my words, Ryoko: I shall see to it that you bring no harm to Lord Tenchi, either through violence or through whatever **_diseases_** you carry!" She disregarded the pirate's enraged growl, although she did allow herself a dainty smile of vindication. "Now, if you will excuse me, I promised Sasami I would not be late for breakfast. **_Good morning_**, Ryoko." The princess put on a politely cheerful smile in answer to the outlaw's glare, and stepped past her toward the stairway.

  
Ryoko watched Aeka step delicately down the stairs, counting off with each step an act of physical violence she should have enacted, until the princess was out of sight. That, at least, was a little bit satisfying, and soothed her frustration. Seven hundred years ago, she wouldn't have even seriously considered letting someone live after that unless there was a hell of a lot of profit involved.  
_I still wouldn't_, she told herself, shaking her head. _I'm not losing my edge; that really would be an expensive fight, a serious no-win situation. It's not worth losing Tenchi just to kill that stuck-up bitch. And Sasami'd probably never forgive me, either._ She puzzled briefly at her concern over the opinion of a Juraian child, dismissed the thought, and sank through the floor into the kitchen below. Aeka was seating herself in the living room where Yosho--until recently pretending to simply be an Earth-native named Katsuhito--was already sitting with Mihoshi, the table set. Noboyuki had left early to get to work, in a rush to finish his current project as usual.  
"Oh, Ryoko!" The pirate glanced down to the voice of the little princess she'd just been contemplating a moment earlier as she continued, "you can help me set out breakfast!"  
_What am I, a maid?_  
Ryoko considered talking Mihoshi into doing it, but shook her head knowing Sasami wouldn't stand for it, and tousled the girl's hair lightly..  
"Sure thing, Sasami." She grinned and scooped up the serving dishes, hovering out to the living room to set them down on the table..  
"Thanks, Ryoko! I'll be out in a second!"  
When Ryoko entered the living room, Washuu had joined the gathering, sitting on her own embroidered cushion. The youthful-looking scientist they had freed from the pirate-scientist Kagato a few weeks ago had made herself very much at home. There was even a door which once led to the closet under the stairwell, but now also opened onto a gigantic laboratory (when Washuu wanted it to), and she had a tendency to pop up out of nowhere on occasion. On the bright side, she had installed a similar contraption in the bath so that it opened on an expansive, lush hot spring if opened by a woman, but revealed only the same old bathroom if opened by a man. Ryoko could no longer imagine bathing any other way, especially in a house shared with Tenchi's father; she was far from modest, but she didn't like the idea of being watched without her permission and having nothing she could do about it, short of slicing Tenchi's dad apart--which wouldn't go over well at all with Tenchi, she was sure.  
"Oh, hi Ryoko!" Mihoshi smiled up at her from her seat, cheerfully; then her smile grew wider and she clapped eagerly. "Ooh, breakfast!"  
"Hey, Mihoshi." Ryoko paused briefly, considering 'accidentally' spilling something on Aeka while she had the chance, but decided against sacrificing breakfast for her own amusement, this once. _It's not like I won't have another chance, anyways_, she thought as she set down the serving dishes about the table.  
"So," asked Washuu, glancing toward the old priest sitting at the head of the table, "isn't that grandson of yours coming to breakfast? I can't stay long. I'm in the middle of studying a strange decoupling in natural transverse space-time geometry fluctuations." She spoke casually, as though explaining that she was expecting a call, or that she had to water her plants.  
Yosho set down his tea patiently before answering, dignified and making no display of rushing, as always.  
"Mm. He should be here shortly," he replied. "He was almost done sweeping, when I came down."  
Ryoko smile brightly and chimed in, "I'd better go get him, then! It's a long way down the stairs, after all!" And with that, she vanished, before the startled Aeka could slip in a protest.

  
_It's strange_, he mused, _how much has changed and how much is just the same. I find out my grandfather's some kind of missing legendary galactic hero, that I'm somehow sort of connected to this Royalty and everything, and I'm already back to spending half my time with homework and a broom. Maybe it's all for the better, though . . . I don't know if I'm really cut out for dealing with space pirates and goddesses and all that._  
Tenchi was walking down the stairs from his grandfather's shrine and contemplating these things, when he was struck without warning from the front by something near his size and mass.  
Something soft, he noticed as he stumbled a few steps and fell back onto the ground beside the stone steps with a grunt.."  
Something with cyan hair?  
"Ryoko?" He blinked at the space pirate, reddening in gradual degrees as he realized by steps how close they were; the way she was resting on top of him; the way her arms were slung about his neck; the way his own hands rested at her waist from an aborted effort to catch her; the way her chest pressed into his and her face took up most of his field of vision, replacing the world with a demon beauty which threatened at least as much as it enticed.  
"Uh... what's going on, Ryoko?" he asked, trying not to think about the compromising position.  
"Oh, nothing, Tenchi. I just thought you might want a lift back down to the house." She was smiling cheerfully, which Tenchi wanted to take at face value, but he couldn't help but wonder what sort of devious trick she had in mind.  
He shook his head, scolding himself for being so suspicious of her, and smiled back a bit more timidly. "Uh... well, I guess I **_should_** get down there quickly. I don't want to miss breakfast, and Aeka **_is_** leaving this afternoon..."  
"She **_is_**, isn't she... you sure you wouldn't rather I take you hostage for a few hours? It's not like she's going away **_forever_**, you know, so seeing her off isn't all **_that_** important, right?" She giggled playfully, freeing her hands from behind Tenchi's back to rest them on his shoulders with a tender but insistent grip, and leaned in to bring her eyes still nearer to his.  
"R-Ryoko!" Tenchi tensed and blushed fiercely, pushing back futilely at her waist with his eyes wide. "No! I can't do that!"  
"Awww, why not?" She nuzzled at him, pouting, although the playfulness in her eyes was obvious.  
"I said no, Ryoko! I promised I'd be there when Aeka and Sasami took off. And you know it wouldn't be nice to Sasami to duck out on breakfast.  
"...and I don't want you taking **_anybody_** hostage!" he added, almost an afterthought.  
Ryoko couldn't help but smile. Even if he was turning down her offer, he was still so much **_fun_**.  
"Not even after they're gone?"  
"No, Ryoko!"  
"Okay, okay," she sighed. "Still want me to bring you down to the house?"  
He paused a moment to collect himself and smiled a little. "Yeah, okay. Just take me-"  
She interrupted with a mischievous grin, "Ooh, right here on the stairs?"  
Tenchi tensed again, blushing deeply. "Ryoko! To the house! Take me to the **_house_**!"  
She giggled and wrapped her arms around him again. "Well, all right. But **_next_** time, how about up here?" She winked playfully, and there was a sudden moment of disorientation before Tenchi found himself in the living room. He remained tense for the time it took him to recognize that she hadn't kidnapped him and brought him someplace private--or just inappropriate, like the time she dragged him into the women's part of the hot springs when they went there for a brief vacation.  
Aeka, however, was already on her feet. "Ryoko! I already warned you about.. about **_manhandling_** Lord Tenchi!"  
Ryoko laughed and squeezed Tenchi tighter against herself. "**_Man_**handling? If you think I'm a **_man_**, you can just ask Tenchi. I'm sure he can tell pretty easily that I'm not." She grinned, pressed intimately against him.  
"R-Ryoko," cried Tenchi a bit urgently, his face warring between red embarrassment and blue asphyxiation, but with no doubt about panic. "Let go of me already!"  
"Release Lord Tenchi at once!" shrieked Aeka, eyes blazing.  
Ryoko would have replied as the tension built, but she was distracted by a loud, angry snarl from the breakfast table. All three looked over wide-eyed to see Mihoshi fidgeting unhappily.  
"I'm sorry," she said tearfully. "I'm getting really hungry waiting, you know!"  
All the others sweatdropped.  
Ryoko shook her head and reluctantly let go of Tenchi, a little frustrated at her fun being interrupted. "I guess we should eat before Mihoshi's stomach shakes the house down; and I'm pretty hungry, anyways."  
Tenchi had already crawled to the table, calming down and catching his breath. Aeka seated herself as well, glaring a moment longer at Ryoko before regaining her composure and turning to Tenchi.  
"Are you all right, Lord Tenchi?"  
He smiled a bit and nodded. "Yeah, Miss Aeka, I'm fine. I **_did_** ask Ryoko to bring me down here. ...well, sort of."  
"I see... well, I suppose it did save you some time, at least." She smiled, then blinked at a sudden cry from Ryoko and a clatter of chopsticks falling to the table.  
"Hey! What's the big idea, **_Shrimp_**?!" Ryoko was rubbing her hand, and glaring red-blazing daggers at the diminutive scientist across from her. Washuu sat meeting the pirate's gaze coolly with a pair of her own chopsticks neatly poised to strike like an enraged pit viper.  
"Tsk. You should know better than to start eating without Sasami. And you should speak more respectfully to your mother. I know I didn't teach you manners like that, Ryoko."  
"You didn't teach me any kind of manners, '**_Mom_**,'" Ryoko growled, the last word dripping with sarcasm.  
"Okay, everything's done!" interrupted Sasami as she stepped into the living room with the last serving dish, and set it down, then seated herself. "Sorry to keep you all waiting!"

  
The noonday sky shone a deep blue overheard, clear save for a few wispy mare's tails.  
"Lord Tenchi?" asked Aeka.  
"Huh? What is it, Miss Aeka?" Tenchi looked over to toward her. They were walking near the bank of the lake, toward the place where Ryuu-Ou was awaiting its mistress and ward. Aeka's eyes were cast to the ground before her as she spoke. Tenchi wasn't sure just what to read in her demure posture; partly because the only time he could think of when she **_didn't_** have a demure posture was when she and Ryoko were about to kill each other or someone else.  
She paused after his reply, taking in the details of the ground at her feet; even the ground here was subtly different from anyplace else she remembered. Was that true of every planet she'd seen? Had she ever noticed before?  
"I will miss this place, Lord Tenchi," she answered softly after a moment. "I will miss this place, and I will miss... many of the people here."  
Tenchi blinked at her and smiled warmly. "It's okay, Miss Aeka. It's just for a few days, right? We'll miss you, too, but we know you'll be coming back before too long. I think after a couple days of not having Sasami here to cook for us, even Ryoko will be hoping you'll come back soon."  
Aeka laughed softly behind her hand and smiled, glancing over to him. "Thank you, Lord Tenchi. You always seem able to raise my spirits."  
"Aheheh... well, I'm glad I can do that, at least." He grinned sheepishly, reddening, and rubbed the back of his neck absently.  
_Yes, Lord Tenchi. That, you can certainly do_. Aeka smiled at the blushing, bashful student a moment longer, then resumed her own demurely thoughtful posture, eyes slightly downcast. _It isn't very long before I depart... haven't I anything else to say to him? I must seem dreadfully childish, so fretful and preoccupied..._  
"Miss Aeka?"  
The princess blinked away her reverie and looked up at him. "Ah... yes, Lord Tenchi?"  
"I hope it doesn't sound too weird, but... well, I've lived here my whole life. I've been on those ships of yours and Ryoko's once or twice, but I was kind of distracted from sightseeing. What's it like, out there? I mean, you've seen a lot of places, haven't you?"  
Aeka paused a moment, somewhat surprised by the question.  
"In truth, Lord Tenchi, I am not certain how to answer that... there are far more civilized worlds within the expanse of the Empire than there are countries on this planet of yours, and they seem just as different from one another, save that they exist together as one nation. Between them are great expanses of dark, solemn quiet; although there are many lovely sights, reminders of the glory of Lady Tsunami." She glanced up at the bright blue dome of the heavens, glazed with the delicate wisps of cirrus clouds, and smiled to herself. "I suppose I ought to say that all things in nature remind us of Lady Tsunami's glory... but there are things beyond the sky, Lord Tenchi, which proclaim it with an undeniable voice all their own."  
Tenchi watched her, listening as she spoke, and smiled a bit. _She must be talking about things like Saturn's rings, and those nebulae... I've seen pictures, but I can't even imagine what it must be like to really see it, with your own eyes, and to actually be there. To see other planets, too... even so, I guess I really am content staying here. Maybe for a vacation sometime, though..._  
"Lady Aeka. Lord Tenchi."  
The voice was a relatively deep one, from ahead of them. They both looked forward, and Aeka smiled wanly, nodding to her blue-marked guardian.  
"Oh. Yes, Kamidake, I know. It is time. I will be there shortly, I promise."  
"Yes, Lady Aeka. Lady Sasami is already waiting beside Ryuu-Ou."  
"Thank you, Kamidake. We will be taking off soon."  
"Very well, Lady Aeka." With that, the cylindrical servant turned and hovered back toward Ryuu-Ou. Rarely had such a ship taken quite so much punishment in so short a span of time as poor Ryuu-Ou had during the princess' stay on Earth. One of the few exceptions was her brother's ship Funaho, named after his mother, which was now permanently rooted in the Earth's soil. Aeka sighed softly and shook the thoughts from her head as they drew near to Ryuu-Ou.  
"Well, Lord Tenchi. Thank you for walking me to my ship. I appreciate that you could take the time out of your day, and thank you for your hospitality for all this time." She smiled reservedly, but warmly. "Please... take care while I am away, Lord Tenchi."  
"I'll be okay, Miss Aeka, really!" He smiled back confidently. "And don't worry about it at all, it's not really any trouble. Even if it **_does_** get a bit hectic, it's really nice having you and Sasami around. Honestly."  
"Thank you, Lord Tenchi. You really are very kind. Now, speaking of Sasami..." Aeka glanced around as they stepped up beside Ryuu-Ou, and spotted Sasami kneeling on the ground and hugging Ryo-Ouki.  
"I really will miss you, Ryo-Ouki! But I promise I'll be back before too long!" cried the young princess tearfully.  
"Mya! Mya-myaaaaa!"  
Aeka sighed softly and shook her head, speaking in a gentle but admonishing tone. "Sasami! Stand up and set down that..." _Filthy? Mangy?_ "...dear... creature. We don't want to meet mother and father with you looking like a mess, and we must be going at once." She made a conscious effort not to eye the cabbit with too much obvious distaste. Even though it was at least as responsible as Ryoko for a number of heinous crimes and the repeated destruction of Ryuu-Ou, she had to grudgingly admit that it **_was_** terribly cute, and Sasami was quite fond of it. "And bid farewell to Lord Tenchi, as well."  
"Okay, Aeka-neesan." The little princess sniffed once and hopped up, holding Ryo-Ouki. She smiled up at Tenchi for a moment, albino-red eyes still watery... then hugged onto him tearfully, squishing the cabbit between them. "I'll miss you too, Brother Tenchi! I'll miss you a lot!"  
Aeka smiled to herself, then stumbled as something latched onto her waist, and looked down in surprise at the pile of shaking blond hair as Mihoshi wiped her face into the princess' robes, bawling.  
"Uwaaah! I'll miss you toooo!"  
"M-Miss Mihoshi! Let go of me at once!"  
Tenchi laughed quietly and petted Sasami's head as Aeka struggled to pry Mihoshi off of her nearby. "Hey. It'll be okay, Sasami. Besides, it's been awhile since you've seen your parents, right? I bet the time will fly right by."  
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Tenchi-niisan," Sasami sniffled. "You're sure you'll be okay until we get back? I cooked up plenty of things that make good leftovers, but..."  
"We did manage to eat before you came, Sasami, but thanks. I promise we'll be okay, if you promise you'll try and enjoy yourself, at least a little."  
The princess paused in thought, then smiled a little, and nodded. "Okay, I'll try... and I promise we'll be back quickly, too!"  
"All right, Sasami. We'll be looking forward to it." He smiled down at her reassuringly and nodded, as Aeka managed to extricate herself from Mihoshi's grasp.  
"Sasami! We must be going, now... Azaka! Kamidake! Prepare to bring us aboard!"  
"Yes, Lady Aeka," chorused the pair of guardians, a bluish glow surrounding all four as Sasami reluctantly stepped back from Tenchi to stand beside Aeka.  
"Don't hurry **_too_** much, Aeka. Wouldn't it be funny if Mihoshi had to give you a speeding ticket?" Ryoko grinned, having just appeared, leaning against Tenchi from the side. Ryo-Ouki nuzzled Sasami's cheek, then leapt to Ryoko's shoulder in pursuit of a carrot offered by the pirate.  
Aeka stiffened and turned up her nose. "I will deal with you later, Ryoko. **_I_** have responsibilities to attend to. Azaka! Kamidake!"  
"Yes, Lady Aeka." The blue aura intensified, the two princesses and two guardians no longer visible as the sphere of radiance about them lifted from the ground.  
"Take care, Lord Tenchi!" came Aeka's voice from within the globe of light.  
"We'll miss you!" shouted Sasami as the light shimmered and dashed toward Ryuu-Ou, absorbing into the ship as a drop of water vanishing into the ground.  
Tenchi watched quietly as the massive ship rumbled and began to lift off the ground, wind whistling about them, then accelerated off into the blue sky.  
Ryoko stretched, sighed lightly and smiled, hugging Tenchi's arm to her chest. "Mm, well, now that we're alone..."  
Tenchi blushed, then wheezed and sweatdropped as Mihoshi clung onto him, sobbing into his shirt.  
"Uwaaah! I miss them already!" she gushed as Ryoko fell over, twitching.

  
It was later that day, in the evening, when Mihoshi opened the hatch of her patrol ship's command cabin. _I promised Lady Aeka that I'd make sure Tenchi was safe... so I guess I'd better find out what the news is, so I can be ready!_ She nodded to herself, and started the process of activating the auxiliary power and the hyperspace radio to receive a Galaxy Police general status update.  
Two hours had passed by the time she finished consulting the manual and turning on the right controls.  
Mihoshi was at the verge of tears as the display finally flickered into bright activity, mostly text with some pictures and statistics. She scanned through the chronological listing of events--mostly irrelevancies as far as Earth or Tenchi were concerned. Minor changes to traffic laws, Most Wanted List updates, Arrest On Sight orders posted thousands or tens of thousands of light years away. But then, near the end, she saw something new and terrible, within just a few hundred of lightyears of Earth.  
She hesitated, and then brought up more detailed information.  
The details were sketchy, but she knew she'd found a real, serious threat; a threat which could spill over to Earth, if someone didn't deal with it. _And as an officer of the Galaxy Police, it's my duty to make sure something's done!_  
She sat back in Yukinojo's command chair, and thought as hard as she could. The deliberate, conscious effort creased her brow, puckered her lips, and nearly crossed her eyes as well, but she got results.  
Her ship wasn't really spaceworthy at the moment.  
The last time she tried to deal with something like this herself was how her ship got wrecked in the first place.  
But then, she realized what she had to do.  
_Ryoko! Maybe there's not much I can do personally, but this ought to be right up her alley!_  
Mihoshi leapt to her feet, blue eyes ablaze with determination... and yawned, loudly.  
_But first, I could really use a nice long nap._

**Stay Tuned for the Next Chapter...**  
_Soukoku Muyou:_  
No Need for Rivals!

_ Mihoshi tells Ryoko what she discovered: the newest and fastest rising star of piracy in the galaxy! The Legendary Demon Space Pirate sets out on a trip to Tortuga Station to go on a pirate-hunt. After 700 years off her feet and living the sweet life in the Masaki household, is Ryoko prepared to face this new threat on her own? Is her rival in notoriety some long-lost enemy, or something else entirely? And why does he seem so familiar? _


	2. Soukoku Muyo

Chapter II  
**Soukoku Muyou  
(No Need for Rivals)**  


_ "It may be the very recognition of all men as our brothers that  
accounts for the sibling rivalry, and even enmity, we have toward so  
many of them."  
-- Narrator (Jim Tickler) in "The Glory of the Hummingbird"  
by Peter De Vries (b. 1910), U.S. author._

"Ryoko!"  
The legendary space pirate laughed giddily and continued moving slowly, one hand resting on Tenchi's bare chest.  
"Mmm, you can beg for mercy louder than **_that_**, can't you, Tenchi?"  
"Please, Ryoko! If you don't stop that, I'll... Ryoko! ...Ryoko!"  
She sighed contentedly, feeling him tense under her, and opened her eyes again with a warm smile. "Ten-"  
She stopped in the middle of speaking his name.  
Tenchi wasn't there.   
It took her a moment to wake up fully, to register that she had only been dreaming, and to realize just who was attached to the blond head which was repeating her name desperately. Doing all three, she snarled and rose up, lifting Mihoshi off the floor by her collar with both hands and glaring down fiercely into the Galaxy Police officer's eyes.  
"D'you know what you just interrupted, Mihoshi?!"  
Mihoshi was already bawling as she dangled helplessly by Ryoko's grip on her shirt, tears streaming from her eyes in saline arcs. "Uwaaah! I didn't mean to Ryokoooo!"  
Ryoko growled ferally, twitching in aggravation, and dropped Mihoshi unceremoniously on the couch over which the pirate had been hovering in her sleep a moment earlier. She crossed her arms irritably and landed on the floor, tapping a foot impatiently while waiting for Mihoshi to stop crying. "What do you **_want_**, Mihoshi?"  
"I... I don't remember," she sniffled.  
"Why you..."  
Mihoshi rubbed her eyes tearfully. "I'm sorry, Ryoko! You just scared me and I totally forgot what I had to say!"  
Ryoko restrained herself from strangling Mihoshi--even in her dreams, it seemed, something would always get in the way! She did not, however, restrain herself from glaring down at the blonde. "You'd damn well better remember, Mihoshi, 'cause if you woke me up without a good reason, you'll find out how I got to be number one most wanted pirate in the galaxy."  
Mihoshi suddenly leapt up and grasped Ryoko's hand, smiling broadly and childlike, completely oblivious to the threat against her life and wellbeing in the sudden rush of recollection. "Ooh, ooh, I just remembered! I just remembered what it was, Ryoko!"  
Ryoko sweatdropped at the sudden mood reversal and repressed the urge to snatch her hand away, lest the shock send Mihoshi into hysterics again. She braced herself for whatever stupid idea cooked up overnight by perhaps the single most incompetent officer of the law in galactic history. "Okay," she sighed, "okay! So what's the big deal?"  
"Well, I just remembered it now, when you said you were the number one most wanted pirate in the galaxy! I was going to tell you last night, but I fell asleep, and I just woke up a little while ago, but I wanted to get myself some breakfast first, and I'd forgotten to reload the dispenser before I came here following Kagato, and--"  
Ryoko growled as Mihoshi's mind wandered further and further from both the topic at hand and anything the pirate cared to hear about. "Mihoshi. You wanted to tell me something?" She crossed her arms again and heaved a weary sigh, wondering absently what that dream would have been like if it had gone on for another few hours. Even if it was a dream, she would have liked to have that memory to hang on to--perhaps as a vivid outline of what to make into reality over the next couple of weeks.  
"Ooh, right!" piped the blond officer eagerly, putting on a very serious expression, although it failed to make her come across any less absurd. Ryoko absently wondered how someone so inept and **_cutesy_** got through the academy. _Their standards must have really slipped in the last few centuries_, she decided.  
Mihoshi continued, with all the solemnity she could muster: "Before she left, Lady Aeka reminded me it was my sworn duty as an officer of the Galaxy Police to protect people from dangerous criminals--**_especially_** important people like Tenchi! So anyway, I figured I should go back to my ship and find out if anything new happened since I crashed here. Well, it took me awhile, but I got the radio turned on, and you'll **_never_** guess what I found out!" Her statement was delivered with such dramatic flare that soap opera actresses around the world were put to shame.  
Ryoko's already scant patience was wearing thin. "You're right, Mihoshi, I'll never guess," she answered with a growl kept **_just_** below her breath. "That's because you're going to get to the point and **_tell_** me."  
Mihoshi sulked. "Oh, okay. Well, I'll tell you what I found!"  
She paused, trying to build suspense.  
Ryoko stared at her, waiting resignedly to hear about the brave rescue of an old woman's cat from a tree.  
"There's a new number one most wanted pirate!"  
Mihoshi had restored her attempt at a serious expression, but Ryoko was no longer thinking about Mihoshi's clownish demeanor.  
"Well, that's not really surprising, is it? It's been a long time, now. The statute of limitations on everything **_I_** did must have come and gone, by now. So what's so special about the new kid on the block?" She crossed her arms, listening, but growing genuinely curious. She doubted even Mihoshi would get so worked up over something neither important nor as dramatic as the valiant rescue of a kitty in distress.  
"Umm... I guess it's mostly that the Wanted notice says he might be just a few dozen lightyears from Earth." She scratched her head, trying to remember the details of the Wanted notice, but it was all a bit hazy--other than that the picture they had of him was **_really_** cute, in a dashing, dangerous sort of way. "I've got the rest on here... just let me see..." She picked up her dimensional cube and fiddled with it for a minute, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth in deep concentration, before she managed to bring up her portable personal computer display.  
"Lemme see that," Ryoko interrupted, snatching the display from the surprised Mihoshi's hands the moment she produced it. The infamous pirate peered at the holoprojection screen, reading through the details. _She's right about him working near Earth. And it looks like he doesn't even have a record until just a little over two months ago, by the standard Earth calendar. ...two months?! **Nobody** gets "number one most wanted" in just two months!_ Ryoko caught herself staring at the readout and scowled. _Charges of grand larceny, assaulting a noble, murder, export violations, sector restriction violations..._  
And worse still, the young man in the picture looked damnably **_familiar_**. She had the nagging feeling that she'd seen this guy, somewhere. From the looks of him, he could be in his early 20s, but she knew as well as anybody that appearances could be deceiving; she looked about the same age, herself, and was **_thousands_** of Earth years old; and Washuu **_claimed_**, at least, to have been around for ten times as long as Ryoko, despite the eccentric scientist's childlike appearance.  
"I never thought I'd say this, Mihoshi," said Ryoko after a moment's pause, "but you're right." _And I wish I'd never seen this_, she finished, silently. _I was looking forward to all this time without Aeka getting in the way; but at least I don't have to worry about her dragging Tenchi off to Jurai while I'm not looking._  
She froze for a moment, considering the possibility Mihoshi could have rigged this, somehow, with images out of the Galaxy Police archives to make sure Ryoko's interest would be piqued. But near instantly, she remembered it was Mihoshi, who likely couldn't rig anything more sophisticated than a TV dinner.  
Ryoko grinned slowly, fanglike teeth glimmering in the morning light. "All right, Mihoshi. Don't worry about a thing. You stay here and keep your eyes peeled and your hands **_off_** Tenchi, and I'll take care of this uppity brat."  
_Nobody but nobody shows up the legendary space pirate Ryoko!_  
_Now I just need to find enough carrots to convince Ryo-Ouki to fly to Tortuga Station._  
  
The spaceport was a large, well-armed station nestled amid the thick, icy rings of a planet not entirely unlike Saturn but larger and much farther from Sol; it orbited a reddish star several dozen lightyears from the system in which Earth followed its annual orbit. The path along which this planet traveled, as decreed by the spacetime geometry force called gravity, kept it far enough from its star's nuclear fire that the gas ices composing the splendid rings were in no danger of melting or sublimating and disappearing; the gas giant's powerful magnetic field generated by the metallic hydrogen dynamo in its core held back the ruddy star's Beta-radiation wind of liberated electrons and hot ions.  
The spaceport known locally as Tortuga Station had a reason to reside in the shelter of the planetary ring system; if it wished to avoid the attention of the Galaxy Police, it was difficult to locate the station with shipboard scanners when its electronic stealth systems were active; a full visual search was hugely impractical amid the millions of scattered microplanetoids. Better still, an attack on the base would be complicated by the rings around it--any ship flying through them had to moderate its speed, thereby making an approaching vessel a sitting duck, or else plow through the field of massive gas ice crystals at cruising velocities.  
Tortuga Station needed this protection because it was not a military outpost. Nor was it a civilian spaceport. Rather, it was a Port of Haven: a neutral ground for outlaws and pirates to stop at in relative safety, and a place where they could relax, as much as anyone in outlaw society ever could, and not worry about local authorities. There were certain rules to follow for the safety of the spaceport itself (enforced in much the same manner as those maintained by yakuza), but aside from these, there was no law at all. If one wanted to find something illegal, Tortuga Station would have either what you wanted or someone who could get it. It also had more than its fair share of run down, dirty, seedy bars and brothels; the most honest businesses on the station were the casinos. Tortuga Station was like Las Vegas wrapped up and packed into a giant can with windows and more firepower than most of the nations of Earth.  
Ryoko scowled to herself as she looked over the spaceport, one hand on her hip. It was dirtier than she had remembered it being, but the last time she'd passed through was several centuries ago by Earthly reckoning. The sense of dilapidation-tinged nostalgia did nothing for her, and the time she had spent relaxing in the countryside with Tenchi made some of her old-time haunts seem more stark than she expected. She shook the thoughts from her head and whistled to Ryo-Ouki, who changed from the form of a large, spiny, crystalline starship into her small, harmless cabbit form, perching on her mistress's shoulder. _At least I won't have to pay for docking space_, thought Ryoko.  
She knew from her old days of dealing with pirates that you don't find a hotshot by searching through all the bars and strip clubs and casinos. Police sometimes look for pirates that way, because they have a lot of manpower and most of them don't understand the privateer psychology. Bounty hunters know better, though; searching around and hoping you get the right rabbit hole is a good way to spend a month getting nowhere, only to find out that your quarry already left.  
You track down a pirate by calling him out. A pirate may value his skin highly, but without a tough reputation, other pirates become far more dangerous than you could dream of being. Outlaw culture is defined strongly by status awarded for how dangerous one is. Passing up a sensible challenge without a good reason is one of the best ways to make yourself look weak, and as in any predatory society, the weak are either shoved aside or ripped apart. If you mean to stay alive as a pirate, you have to keep everyone else scared enough that they won't pick a fight with you, given the choice.  
And if they do, then you have to make an example of them.  
_Now, how to call him out?_ Ryoko was paused in thought when she heard loud, mocking laughter nearby. She looked over, prepared to beat the hell out of whoever was trying to start something with her, but found that the laughter was directed toward someone else. There were two men not far away. One was unfamiliar, although he was obviously some manner of outlaw, judging by his sense of style, his scars, and the illegal, high-power vibroblade he held. He was huge, and looked angry and stupid. A few past encounters with this type of character passed through her mind--they were vague as with all distant memories, but she smirked at the recollection of beating them into the ground.  
Her expression became instantly serious when she got a clear view of the other man, the one who was laughing at his giant opponent. He was just shy of six feet tall, but he seemed diminutive near the near nine-foot behemoth with the illicit weapon. His hair was black and long, and he was definitely handsome, in an almost regal sort of way, although his expression was altogether rakish in both senses of the word. The flamboyance of the huge white feather rising from his big leather hat stood proudly like a banner declaring the degree of his audacity. If his laughter, hat and arrogant grin didn't spell out his cocky attitude clearly enough, the half-finished bottle of hard liquor he had brought out of the bar with him left no doubt: it was an obvious display of contempt, and a statement that he was sure he would not need both hands to finish the fight easilly. He looked damnably familiar from somewhere, other than the Galaxy Police file on him--this was the one Ryoko had come here to deal with, the new rising star of piracy in the galaxy. Circumstance had saved her the trouble of getting him away from his drink, and gave her an opportunity to see just how good he was.  
"Stop laughing!" thundered the giant, brandishing his weapon threateningly.  
The young man laughed in response and shrugged casually. "I can't help it if clowns're funny, Sparky. Now, since you're interrupting my relaxing with a stiff drink and a sexy young woman--"  
"**_MY_** WOMAN!" interrupted the brute in a roaring bass, practically foaming at the mouth. "And don't call me 'Sparky!' The name's Colossus!"  
"Whatever, Sport. First of all, you're not cool enough to be named after an X-Men character. Second, a girl with a body like that deserves hours of incomparable ecstasy--not a giant unwashed wookie's nut sack like you. And finally, if you interrupt me one more time or say something retarded, I'll kill you where you stand and hang you off your own ship by your back hair."  
The self-styled Colossus snarled inarticulately and started forward at the young man. "PREPARE TO D--"  
Before he could finish, there was a deafening _BANG_ like a bolt of lightning, and the huge man's right shoulder practically exploded in a spray of blood; the arm wielding his vibroblade crashed to the floor several feet away. The giant let out a strangled roar, stumbled back, and fell with a _BOOM_ and amazed shouts from a few similarly dressed men standing nearby.  
"Didn't I just tell you not to say anything retarded?"  
The young man stood, aiming a large pistol at the wounded giant, and took a casual pull from the bottle in his hand. The pistol was dark grey with red lettering on it which read _Havermeyer 15mm_, and resembled the bastard offspring of a 17th century Earth flintlock and a ray gun from a black and white era science fiction film. "You're lucky you didn't get blood on me. Now go find something better to do than wasting my bullets and distracting me from pretty girls."  
The giant lay bleeding and groaning incoherently where he had stood. A few members of his crew rushed over to drag him away, another dragging away his arm, which must have weighed near two-hundred pounds in muscle and still clutched the weapon. A girl in form-fitting black leather hesitated momentarily, gave the young man with the gun an apologetic look, and hurried after the losing team.  
The young man scowled a moment, then smirked and shook his head, laughing casually. "Shit. Another five minutes, and she would've been all over me."  
Ryoko stood by, watching the display. _A kid with a nice gun_, she thought. _And he's really not afraid to use it. But it's nothing I can't work around. He's probably a total marshmallow, behind it_. She grinned to herself with a generous display of fanged teeth, and stepped out of the crowd, resting a hand on her hip. "I hope I'm not destroying your ego, kid, but I've gotta say I've seen way bigger guns than yours."  
The young man chuckled as he turned to face her. "Hah! You haven't--" He stopped in mid sentence and stared for a split second, as if surprised to see her there, then smirked and spun the pistol, putting it away; he had returned almost instantly to his casual, impudent demeanor. "Shit. I didn't think you'd be here to waste my time this quickly, old lady."  
Ryoko bristled at the insult. "Who're you calling an old lady, runt?!"  
"Gyahaha... I'm calling **_you_** an old lady, old lady. You're what, two thousand years old, more or less? I recognize the famous Ryoko, all right." His smirk widened a moment before he tilted back the bottle, finishing it off, and tossed it to someone in the crowd. "Don't worry, old lady, I'm not gonna shoot a legendary fossil like you. Wouldn't want to make you break a hip, or something."  
"Why you little punk... who the hell are you, anyway?" She glared and snarled, crackling with the bright red plasma currents that gathered and arced around her. Most of the crowd from the previous engagement were still gathered around to see where this one was going. More than a few were making bets, keeping to hushed tones. Risking money was one thing, but none of the bystanders wanted to risk having to explain why they had bet against the victor, if they should lose the bet.  
"I'm guessing you're here because you **_know_** who I am: the most wanted pirate in this galaxy. But you can call me Captain Takeo Kobayashi."  
She scowled at the unfamiliarity of the name. _Maybe I'm looking at this from the wrong angle; not everyone lives much longer than Earth-humans. This could easilly be the thirty-times great grandson of somebody I used to know, and his last name could've changed as many times as that._  
"'Takeo Kobayashi,' huh?" Ryoko mulled over the name while watching him, trying to put together the memory that was nagging at the back of her mind.  
"**_Captain_**. **_Captain_** Takeo Kobayashi. Now, there something I can do for you, or did you just show up to congratulate me on being the new most wanted pirate--and, I might add, pirate **_captain_**--in this galaxy?" He was still smirking, the look on his face just begging her to punch it in; worse still, some of the crowd was laughing. Humiliation isn't something you can let slide, in outlaw society.  
Ryoko growled irately, but smirked back. "Hah! Actually, I'm here to teach all of you a lesson; and you've made yourself the example, prettyboy."  
Takeo laughed, remaining frustratingly relaxed; worse than simply being relaxed, he was plainly enjoying the encounter. "A lesson? You mean about old fossils trying to get back in the game after their time's passed?" He didn't even try to conceal his amusement at the fury in her blazing eyes. "Come on and make an example of me, old lady. Just don't try and sue me for damages when you fall down."  
"Shut up, already!" Ryoko snarled and dashed forward as Ryo-Ouki left her shoulder, her right hand clenched into a fist. She closed quickly, her flight propelling her faster than any human, and swung hard to strike the young man across the jaw and break it. _That'll shut him up!_ she thought, as her fist connected, relishing the impact.  
She was stunned when he only stumbled a step back--she knew she could lay out an ox with a punch like that--and spat blood on the floor. He flashed a grin, and before she could react, pivoted forward, driving his own fist up into her gut with the weight and strength of his body, which amazed her: it was hard enough to double her over and force the air from her lungs. She wheezed, eyes thrown wide from the impact and her body stunned for a moment in which his other hand came across her jaw, sending her backward several meters to land on her back and skid to a stop.  
Takeo brushed the back of his right hand across mouth to wipe away the blood, shaking his left hand which had struck her jaw. "Heh... if you're gonna start something with me, granny, don't screw around. I know I'll kick your ass, but you can at least put up a decent fight."  
Ryoko lay there a moment in shock. _When was the last time I got laid out like this?_ she wondered at the ceiling as her vision settled from the jarring blow, the crowd about them cheering raucously like the audience at a match-of-the-century. In a way, it was. _Against Kagato. He would've been no special challenge to me, if he'd fought fair, but I know he wasn't any kind of slouch among pirates; maybe I underestimated this clown... time to get serious!_  
She growled under her breath as she leapt to her feet, clenching her fist again and channeling the angry red plasma-lightning over which she exercised control, forming a blade of searing crimson light. "Hah! You want me to fight you seriously, punk?! Your funeral!" With a snarl, Ryoko leapt forward, propelling herself at her quarry, teeth bared ferally in a grin of aggression.  
Ryoko closed again with all the velocity she could muster, bringing her arm up and across to slash forcefully with the weightless blade in her right hand, a strike capable of cleaving through a car. However, even as her arm came upward, Takeo moved in to meet her; his left hand grasped her fist, keeping the blade of coherent energy harmlessly away from his body, and he spun fluidly, letting his body's angular momentum transfer out to his extended elbow, arcing it around toward her as she passed. Ryoko didn't register the progression until his elbow connected squarely with the back of her head. She flew forward with the momentum, uncontrolled, and crashed full on into a wall of artificial brick with the strength of steel. The impact cracked the wall around her, and her energy blade flickered and extinguished as her control slipped.  
She heard him laughing through the flashes of light dancing behind her eyes and snarled furiously, pulling herself from the wall, followed by a shower of broken material around her feet. She whirled, channeling red plasma in her hand and pitched it toward her adversary. The sphere of compressed energy blazed through the air, blasting a hole in the floor of the promenade where Takeo had been standing before he rolled to the side. Ryoko knew Tortuga Station's enforcers would be showing up to make their presence known, but she didn't care; she was only here to deal with this problem, and Tortuga's enforcers didn't worry her--the demoness-pirate who had laid waste to the capital planet of the Jurai Empire--in the least.  
_But neither should this bastard_, she thought, as she hurled another blast in his direction. Takeo slipped around it and dashed forward at her, flashing an arrogant grin. Ryoko was already gathering plasma in her hand again as he closed in, and grinned in reply while trying to ignore the building disorientation; it wouldn't matter, after he fell into her trap. She let him get good and close, before she vanished suddenly. When she appeared again a fraction of a second later, now behind him, she laughed and swung her blade of energy, meaning to take his head. The laughter, however, died in her throat when she saw half of a white feather floating free in the air.  
_How did he know--_  
The last thought which passed through her mind was incomplete when she felt the impact of his open palm rising into her jaw with the full strength of his frame. Abstract thought failed at once, followed swiftly by her vision, and she only dimly registered the sensation of dropping roughly to the ground from the several meters' height she had attained after the strike.  
Her last perception was of Takeo's voice, rich with amusement.  
"**_That_** was for ruining my feather."

**Stay Tuned for the Next Chapter...**  
_Fukakai Muyou:_  
No Need for Enigma!

_ Takeo appears on Earth with Ryoko, and speaks briefly and mysteriously to Yosho. When Tenchi arrives, a fast-paced fight ensues. Just what is TakeoÕs connection to Yosho? What is his agenda with regards to the Masaki family as a whole? Tensions only escalate when Mihoshi reports the kidnapping of a royal hostage from the very same conference Aeka and Sasami traveled to! _


	3. Fukakai Muyo

Chapter III  
**Fukakai Muyou  
(No Need for Enigma)**  


_ "Man himself is an enigma in motion."  
-- Emile-Auguste Chartier (1868-1951), French Philosopher_

From the summit of dozens of marble steps, one could see the glimmer of sunlight on the water of the tranquil lake near the Masaki household. A massive tree stood, hearty and stout at the spot upon which it had rested for seven-hundred years. It resembled a member of one of the grand deciduous tree families, but still more majestic, and its leaves in afternoon sunlight shone with colors brilliantly verdant and golden.  
This tree, the only of its kind to set roots in Earth's soil, had a name: Funaho.  
The man who was once carried between stars by Funaho placidly watched the delicate and listless motion of its leaves in an unhurried August wind through square-rimmed glasses. His skin, loosened and weathered, and his hair, long since turned from black to gray, belied the energy which welled tranquilly within him--only his eyes would give it away, when he was at rest. For a great long time, he had been nothing more than an old man and a Shinto priest.  
For a very, very long time.  
How many lifetimes had he seen pass, here on Earth?  
How long had he been Katsuhito?  
_It has been a very long time, has it not, Funaho?_ Yosho watched the tree which had been his companion for seven hundred years, as judged by Earth's orbit. After seven hundred years, his past had returned, but he now refused to play his old roles--crown prince of the Juraian galactic empire and of legendary swordsman. Now he was an old man, a grandfather, and a mentor to Tenchi; and he had his shrine to tend, of course, even though the demoness it once imprisoned had been set free.

  
"Is there something I can do for you?" Although Yosho was fully aware of both presences nearby, he did not move. Both were familiar, but one, he could not place--not yet, at least.  
"It's not like you to be rude to a guest, old man. You should be inviting me to tea or something, right? Especially when I've got a package for you."  
"Yes, of course." Yosho glanced back at the young man over whose shoulder Ryoko was casually slung. "Come with me."  
Yosho quietly led the way across the stone courtyard at the top of the hill, and into the building which had long served as his sanctuary. The young man followed just as quietly--almost reverently, thought Yosho, well aware of the man's posture and the way he distributed his weight with each step. His arrogant expression and demeanor concealed a deep-seated respect.  
"Sit, if you please."  
"Thanks." The young man swung Ryoko off his shoulder--so casually that it seemed as though he would be perfectly content if she was sent through the wall--and deposited her with a surgeon's easy confidence and delicacy on the floor. The coat he wore was black leather, cunningly decorated in bright silver, and he brushed it back as he sat before the low table in a practiced motion.  
Yosho sat opposite him, setting down tea. "Now, then. What shall I call you?"  
The young man lifted the cup nearest himself and drank quietly. "Captain Takeo Kobayashi. But I suppose I can make an exception and let you call me 'Takeo,' all things considered."  
"'Takeo.' Hm." Yosho nodded quiet approval. "You are not here, I hope, to cause trouble."  
"Trouble?" Takeo smirked casually in response. "Wouldn't you say trouble builds character? Don't worry, I'm not planning on **_killing_** anyone. Not for the time being, at least--and certainly not in front of you. Piracy's all about calculated risk, and I calculate I'd be an idiot to get in a serious fight with the man I learned from."  
Yosho contemplated him a moment, then nodded. "Then you are--"  
"I don't think I need to answer that question," Takeo interrupted. "I think you know who I am, and I think we both know why you're wise enough to keep it to yourself."  
In silence, Yosho watched the young man before him. Then he closed his eyes and nodded; there was little to gain by bluffing to a companion who clearly knew him so well--knew his perceptiveness, knew his policy of noninterference, and knew his acute awareness of consequences. "Very well. Are you staying long?"  
Takeo paused quietly, finishing his tea. He set down the cup, smirked, and glanced toward the door as footsteps approached it from outside. "No, not very long."  
"Mm." Yosho sat quietly and sipped his tea, well aware of what was going to happen.

  
Tenchi had spent the previous day in a warring blend of relief and worry. He had expected either to wake up to Ryoko's unsolicited advances, or else to find her asleep someplace, where she would stay until the afternoon; neither was the case. In fact, it turned out that she was nowhere in the house, and she didn't show up all day long. She wasn't around **_this _**morning, either, and Ryo-Ouki was apparently with her. Mihoshi was still asleep, Washuu was locked away in her lab with a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, and Tenchi's dad had already left for work; with Aeka and Sasami away on their trip, that meant his grandfather was the only person available to ask. Tenchi stepped up to the door of his grandfather's shrine, and slid the door open.  
"Hey, gran--"  
Tenchi was ready to fight the instant he detected something moving quickly in his direction, the sword which shared his name flaring to life in his hand; but he caught himself before he struck. He threw his sword wide, stumbling backward as he caught Ryoko with his newly freed hands. "R-Ryoko?!"  
"Bang."  
Tenchi looked up from the unconscious woman and tensed. A young man stood in the doorway of the shrine with what looked like some kind of pistol; Tenchi could tell where it was aimed by his clear line of sight into the barrel. He felt a sharp pang of foolishness, realizing that he had cast his own weapon aside to catch Ryoko. It was just like all the times sparring with his grandfather when he stumbled blindly into a trap--only this time it was deadly serious. He locked eyes with the young man and scowled, trying to think what action he could take without getting shot first.  
Takeo stared back for a long, silent moment before laughing uproariously as he spun the pistol casually and stowed it in an ornamented holster at his hip. "You won't last very long with instincts like that, Masaki-kun! One hostage, and I could have killed you without making even a **_token_** effort."  
"What did you do to Ryoko?!" Tenchi glared furiously, holding the legendary demoness who now sagged bonelessly in his arms.  
Takeo chuckled and grinned, displaying predatory, fang-like teeth. "Well, it looks to **_me_** like I beat the hell out of her. Gets you real riled up, doesn't it, kid? You look like your forehead's about to crawl off your face if you get any more stressed out--you must want to try and kick my ass pretty bad, huh?"  
Tenchi tensed, scowling angrily. "I don't want--"  
"The hell you don't," interrupted the pirate offhandedly. "You might **_dream_** of being a sissy, but I know you've got a hell of a spark in you."  
"I **_don't_**! I don't want to fight!"  
Takeo rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You're the punk who killed Kagato, aren't you?" It was more a statement of fact, or even an accusation, than a question, and he didn't wait for Tenchi to reply. "Here. Maybe when you've got your sword, you'll have some balls, too."  
Tenchi tensed as the Master Key flung itself toward him with a gesture from the pirate. The blade flared to blue-white life as he caught it from the air in his right hand, and he strained under the pressure of the first strike which came down on him; his opponent had closed faster than Tenchi anticipated, and only his reflexes had saved him. Takeo's own weapon crackled against the Master Key's blade and radiated a fierce, blazing red light--an impression only heightened by the pirate's mocking laughter as he pressed down, testing the limits of Tenchi's strength and clearly using practically none of his own. _I'll need both hands for this_, thought Tenchi, grimacing with effort. _I need to get him away from Ryoko!_  
Tenchi tilted the Master Key suddenly to let his opponent's blade slide away, and slashed across; his enemy dodged away, but he had at least bought himself some space. He quickly but gently set Ryoko down to rest on the stone of the courtyard and bounded after Takeo, taking another slash--somewhat wild, this second attack, but it sufficed to initiate the engagement in earnest, and at a safe distance from the unconscious Ryoko.  
Takeo's parry and counter were characteristically relaxed, with loose but succinct form; his movements were casual, but wasted no motion or energy, and his reactions were as deliberate, expert, and effortless as Washuu's response to a calculus problem: in a flash, it seemed, the response was obvious to him. He gave ground at first, but he gave it as though it were either a concession to Tenchi's pride or a means to build suspense in some unseen audience, for he showed no sign of concern. Even on the retreat, he fought as though each step he yielded, he knew he could reclaim with interest at any moment. It surprised Tenchi how frustrating he found his opponent. Each and every time he saw an opening, it was lost again even as he struck. With each glaring flash of contact between the Master Key's blue-white blade and the wrathful crimson of Takeo's, he imagined his grandfather scolding him during lessons: _No, Tenchi! You hesitate too much! If you expect to survive a real fight, hesitation is the first enemy you must defeat!_  
It surprised him doubly when Takeo suddenly reversed tactics, flashing a grin and pressing his attack fiercely where he had been defending. Now, he struck and lunged and reclaimed quickly much of the ground he had lost, driving forward like an engine which had finally warmed up after a cold night of disuse; Tenchi had to struggle to keep his sword in position for each consecutive strike, and it was all he could do not to fall into a panic. He tried to reclaim the advantage with a quick parry and a crosswise slash, but his blade was met with flourish and precision bordering on artistry.  
"Hah! Is **_that_** all you've got in you?!" Takeo grinned fiercely, pressing _forte-ˆ-forte_ against Tenchi's guard--easilly, he could have overborne his physically weaker opponent; but, tauntingly, he did no more than keep him in place, the searing red of his blade casting bright red on the younger man's face.  
Tenchi resisted, despite the futility he could feel in the effort by his adversary's relaxed carriage. "Damnit! What do you want?!" he cried, straining under the force applied to his blade and gripping the Master Key with both hands, his eyes stubbornly focusing on the coherent ray of crimson light lingering so near his face. He wasn't sure if it was real or imagined, but he could feel its fierce, angry heat beating against his cheek like the noonday sun; is was all the more prominent in contrast to Takeo's casual, taunting bearing.  
"Tch." Takeo flashed an irritated glare; just as Tenchi was debating a risky move to free his blade from the pirate's, he felt a hand drive into his gut, knocking the wind from him and sending him stumbling backward from the force alone. It was all he could do to keep a grip on the Master Key, but its blade guttered fitfully and died out like a candle in a hurricane. He fell to the ground, wheezing, near the steps which led down to the house, and tried with all his might not to vomit; the grim thought passed through his mind that if he did, he would also be the one stuck cleaning it up.  
"I want a real fight from you," replied the pirate to Tenchi's question. "If you can't offer that, next time, then you'd better have your affairs in order; the same goes for anyone else wasting my time on your behalf. Savvy?"  
Tenchi just groaned through clenched teeth, struggling to keep his lunch and his pride in place. He had no inclination to answer--until the highest step of the path leading up from the house, a few paces away from him, exploded in a rain of rock chips and sent gravel cascading down the marble stairway. He flinched away reflexively, and looked to see his opponent's pistol drawn and aimed; he imagined it could easilly do to his head what it had done to the block of marble.  
"I said, **_savvy_**?"  
Tenchi glared and nodded curtly, struggling to restrain himself from dashing forward into the path of the gun's muzzle, and looked away in frustration.  
The number one most wanted pirate in the galaxy chuckled, more casually than maliciously, as though it had all been an elaborate but harmless prank. "You need to work on your witty repartee, too. Let's hope you can impress me next time, Masaki. And rest assured that there **_will_** be a next time."  
When Tenchi looked up again, his opponent was gone.   
Ryoko woke, slowly, with a throbbing headache; she had, too, a vague sensation of half-numb discomfort centered in her jaw and in her gut which seemed to spread into her back along the canal of her spine and trickle out to her extremities from there. The more conscious she became, the more conscious she became of how damn sore she was, and it left her yearning acutely for a few stiff drinks.  
"Ryoko!"  
She shifted at the exclamation and winced as the pain in her head surged like the surface of water in a glass given a solid nudge. The dull ache sloshed about briefly inside her skull before it settled; she made sure to keep still afterward, lest she disturb it again. Hesitating just a moment at the fear of another surge of pain, she cracked her eyes open slightly. "Nn... Tenchi?"  
Tenchi knelt over her, wearing a look of concern overlaying weariness. Ryoko could see by the half-focused ceiling beyond him that they were in one of the bedrooms, and she could think clearly enough, at least, to guess that the bed she was on must have been hers. The only time Tenchi would bring an injured Ryoko to the comfort and safety of his bed was in her wildest dreams.  
"Are you okay, Ryoko? You've been out for more than a day... what **_happened_**?"  
"What happened?" she repeated quietly to herself in a bit of a daze. "I'm not sure what-- no, wait." She brought a hand to her jaw as the unwelcome memory swam together from the gradually receding fog in her mind and set into something coherent.  
"Nng... that bastard!" she hissed. "**_Now_** I remember. He was-- wait, how did I get back to Earth? Where's Ryo-Ouki?"  
"Ryo-Ouki showed up just after he left. She's been helping keep an eye on you at night; I think she's sleeping, now." Tenchi scowled, although as much out of concern as anger. "And a guy wearing a lot of leather brought you. Where **_were_** you, Ryoko?"  
"He did?" She started at that, and winced. "Nn... his name's Takeo. Captain Takeo Kobayashi, he said; he's a pirate. He didn't hurt you, did he Tenchi?"  
Tenchi sighed a bit at her stubbornness, but paused when he saw the uncharacteristic seriousness of her expression. _She must have fought him, too... and if I say he **did**, then she'll probably try to get revenge or something._ He hesitated, remembering Takeo's threat.  
"Uh... no, no, I'm fine, Ryoko." Tenchi smiled reassuringly. "Really, I'm okay. I don't think he wanted to fight me seriously, anyways--like he was just trying to scare me. But where **_were_** you? You weren't out picking fights, were you?"  
Ryoko sighed and looked away. "It's not like that, Tenchi... I heard he was around, and I wasn't about to stand by while some punk was trying to outdo me." _And I didn't want to let him get near you_, she thought, _but that didn't quite go according to plan_. "You're probably right, though, about what he was after. Life's easier for a pirate who scares people. If everyone's scared of you, then you don't have to fight them, so you get to relax and take fewer risks."  
Tenchi frowned as he listened. Hesitating a moment after Ryoko had finished speaking, he shook his head and touched her shoulder gently. "Please don't do that again, okay Ryoko? I really don't want to see you get hurt, especially over something like a reputation from hundreds of years ago."  
Ryoko blinked at the gesture and smiled back slowly; it was hard to be tough in the face of Tenchi being so sweet. Besides which, until she was up to fighting again, she would need to rest; _and next time_, she thought, _I'll have to get completely serious from the beginning. He may be an amateur, but I've got to admit that he's a real threat._  
"Okay, Tenchi," she answered, reluctantly. "But if he comes back again..."  
"Ryoko--"  
Tenchi's objection was interrupted by the clatter of the door shoved open too abruptly.  
"Ryoko! You're awake!" puffed Mihoshi as the pirate winced at the clamor and the throbbing headache it worsened.  
"Uh..." Tenchi stared at Mihoshi briefly, wondering at her panicked, breathless state. "Everything okay, Mihoshi?"  
"Huh?" She stared back momentarily, oblivious, eyes wide. "Oh, right!"  
Without warning, she flung herself on Tenchi, arms thrown about his waist, and buried her face in his chest, wailing mutedly. "Oh, Tenchi, it's **_horrible_**!"  
Tenchi sat, startled, with his hands on Mihoshi's shoulders, torn between comforting her and pushing her away--only partly for the sake of propriety. "Uh." He chuckled uncomfortably, trying to ignore the deadly glare directed at them from Ryoko, which was the other reason he considered pushing Mihoshi away. "**_What's_** horrible, Mihoshi?"  
"Lady Asahi was kidnapped!"  
"Huh? Who's Lady Asahi?" Tenchi sweatdropped. "You weren't watching cartoons just now, were you Mihoshi?"  
"Oh, no, it's not that!" Mihoshi shook her head vigorously and sat up, relinquishing her grip on Tenchi, which relieved him and relaxed Ryoko. "I was checking up on the Galaxy Police news update again, and it said that just earlier today, there was a kidnapping at that conference Lady Aeka went to. Lady Asahi, the daughter of Lord Nomori Takebe, one of the really important nobles, got kidnapped--and her Royal Tree, Mimasaka, was stolen at the same time, too!"  
Tenchi blinked as he listened, growing more and more concerned. "That **_is_** bad..."  
Yeah, thought Ryoko peevishly. _It's a crying shame whoever did it was after the wrong A._  
"Is Miss Aeka okay?" he continued.  
"Yeah, I think so... a couple guards got hurt, but they'll be okay. The report says..." she trailed off as she pulled out her dimensional cube and set to work trying to retrieve her remote display screen. It was several minutes before she finally produced and opened the display, reading it aloud to Tenchi and Ryoko in the most grave tone she could muster:  
"Congratulations, Galaxy Police Officer Mihoshi! You may have already won an all-expenses paid ten day (local) vacation to the lovely resort and spa world--"  
"Uh, Mihoshi?" interrupted Tenchi, sweatdropping. "You sure you're reading the right thing?"  
"Huh?" She fell silent and stared wide-eyed for a long moment at the display. "Oh, you're right! Ummmm... oh, here it is!  
"Priority A-1 report. Last Update: 2 hours ago. Crimes: Assaulting a Noble (1), Kidnapping (1), Assault and Battery (5), Grand Theft (1). Victim: Lady Asahi. Perpetrator: Unidentified. Tokonatsunokuni, the resort world famous for its popularity among the nobility of the empire, was the site of an important conference on inter-sector trade policy which began yesterday. However, the trade conference soon became the stage for a daring act of kidnapping.  
"During a recess only hours ago, several guards were attacked by surprise and overpowered, sustaining minor injuries. Lady Asahi Takebe was taken before her bodyguard could interfere, and her ship Mimasaka left the resort's docks shortly thereafter, while regular passenger transport was locked down. It is believed that there was a single perpetrator at the scene, but there may have been unseen accomplices, as well. The perpetrator has yet to be identified, but the investigation and questioning is still continuing, as of this update. The perpetrator is described as a young male, and is believed to be capable of teleportation.  
"Officers are presently tracking the starship Mimasaka and in pursuit, but Lord Takebe is reluctant to allow the use of force until terms have been discussed with the kidnapper, out of concern for his daughter's safety. Until the situation changes, Galaxy Police ships are restricted by imperial edict from using force or coercion to dock with Mimasaka, which presently stands as Imperial Juraian Sacred Territory. Repeat. Officers are **_NOT_** to attempt to dock with Mimasaka; any who fail to comply may be prosecuted on charges of Trespassing on Imperial Juraian Sacred Territory."  
Tenchi was scowling in thought. "I guess there's not a lot we can do about it, either, is there?"  
Ryoko flashed him a grin--the kind that made him certain she had a bad idea. "Well, I'm sure you could find **_someone_** willing to risk getting in trouble with Jurai, if you asked really **_nicely_**, Tenchi."  
He shook his head, trying not to think what she meant by the suggestive tone with which she said nicely. "No way, Ryoko! You're in no shape to go **_anywhere_** right now, and you're **_definitely_** not well enough to get in another fight!"  
Ryoko sighed and sank into her bed slightly. "Okay, okay."  
Beep! Beep! Beep!  
Tenchi and Ryoko looked over at the sound coming from Mihoshi's display.  
"Ooh!" she piped. "There's an update! Oh, **_good_**!" She smiled hugely, blue eyes wide with excitement as she read it.  
"They found out who it was?" asked Tenchi.  
"Well no, not yet, but they say the conference is adjourned until Lady Asahi's brought back! That means Aeka can come home!"  
The room shook as Ryoko fell out of her bed with a CRASH.

**Stay Tuned for the Next Chapter...**  
_Tokkun Muyou:_  
No Need for Special Training!

_ When Aeka returns from the conference, she explains that the kidnapped girl was a friend of Sasami and herself, centuries ago--and reveals to the others a likely match for the perpetrator! Tenchi begins training more seriously with his grandfather, but Ryoko's always eager to lend Tenchi a hand in her own way. Will Tenchi be ready to face Takeo when the time comes? And what exactly is Takeo really after? _


	4. Tokkun Muyou

Chapter IV  
**Tokkun Muyou  
(No Need for Special Training)**  


_ "Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond;  
cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education."  
-- Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), American writer.  
alias Mark Twain_

Noboyuki sat at the dining room table--a rare occurrence in the Masaki household, as he spent most of his time asleep or buried under work at the office--and reflected on the last several days.  
_ Tenchi sure has been working hard with Father, lately_, he thought, looking out the window. _ I guess it's good he has something to focus on, but it's a shame it's not one of the pretty girls around here. It's really about time he should be interested in that kind of thing. But I guess I'm not much of an example, always keeping busy with work... I hope I'm not teaching him to grow up a bachelor all his life..._  
He thought back to previous attempts to convince his son that it was time he start thinking seriously about women, and how futile his efforts had been. It only seemed to make him frustrated, like he didn't even want to hear about it.  
"What could make a young man act like that?" he asked himself.  
"He could be gay," said a woman's voice.  
Noboyuki turned blue.  
"In theory, at any rate," added Washuu, stepping into the room from her laboratory door. "But I don't believe that's the case with Tenchi, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking."  
Noboyuki wasn't listening.  
"MY SON IS NOT GAY! I WILL NOT HEAR OF IT!" he screamed, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears. "LALALALALALALA!"  
Washuu started at him grimly, then turned and walked out to the porch, leaving Noboyuki behind, still shutting out the world.  
_ What a ninny_, she thought, irately, stepping outside and gazing up toward the hilltop shrine. The ring of steel striking steel was faintly audible from among the trees. _You'd think someone like him could understand Tenchi's indecision; and I'm sure the last thing he wants to do is talk about women with his father. I'm sure the last thing ANYBODY wants to do is talk about women with Tenchi's father._  
She shook her head and took in a breath of fresh morning air. There was something about actually being in the outdoors air that even she had never completely successfully replicated in the laboratory, and she had been hard at work for days. Something peculiar had happened to spacetime at a suspiciously precise location, but it extended well outside the four-dimensional membrane of normal spacetime. She had been making dimensional resonance observations, putting together multiphasic harmonic comparison graphs, and cross referencing with twenty thousand years of intensive research--all yielding no definitive answers.  
No plausible ones, at least.  
_Bah, you're being unscientific_, Washuu scolded herself. _You can't casually dismiss something without investigation, no matter how unlikely it seems. I'll just need to make more observations to confirm. Face-to-face, if I can._

  
_ Clang!  
_ With a fluidly woven parry, skip, and quick, technically seamless pounce, the sword cleaved air and sliced a neat rip in Tenchi's white shirt.  
"Focus, Tenchi!" cried Yosho, springing forward again in pursuit, his unremitting onslaught of blows parried frantically by his grandson.  
"Focus?!" Tenchi yelped in response, ducking a slash. "Are you trying to **_teach _**me, or **_kill _**me?!"  
"You need to be prepared, don't you?! Listen, Tenchi! When you attack"--the old man casually sidestepped a downward slash, letting it slide off his own blade with a delicate ring--"you must do so deliberately! And when you defend"--he continued, dashing around to the side astoundingly fast even for a man in his prime, bringing his sword around in an arc and downward at Tenchi's shoulder--"you must do so gracefully!"  
_Ka-kang!_  
Yosho raised an eyebrow.  
His blade rested against Tenchi's, where the boy had spun and blocked it behind his back to recover from his awkwardly low sword and the older man's superior angle of attack.  
"Hm. Much better, Tenchi."  
"Yeah, that was pretty good!" Tenchi grinned over his shoulder, aglow with pride.  
Then he fell head over heels with a _CRASH _as Yosho struck him upside the head.  
"Don't let yourself get cocky," replied the old man. "No enemy will kill you faster than pride."  
"Got it," Tenchi mumbled from the ground.  
"Mm. Well, that's enough for now, Tenchi. Remember, your training continues tomorrow morning."  
_I'm sore enough already_, thought Tenchi, as his thoughts drifted back to the last week. _But I can't let everyone down, either..._

  
A week earlier, the wind had keened and howled in fanfare to the landing of Ryuu-Ou, announcing Aeka's return from the conference. Mihoshi was thrilled to see Aeka had come back sooner than expected, and Ryoko's frustration was at least partly mollified by the availability of Sasami's cooking.  
Only once everyone was seated at the dining room table did Aeka speak up to answer the questions she had postponed earlier (for which Ryoko had accused her of purposely building up suspense).  
"To reiterate," she began formally, as though addressing a public speech to the Empire, "I assure you that we are very much unharmed, if perhaps a little shaken after our ordeal."  
_ If it was your ordeal_, thought Ryoko, peering at Aeka, _why is it you're the one who came back?_  
"As to the incident itself... well... I presume that you have heard of the young woman who was abducted, of course: Lady Asahi Takebe." Aeka took on a more concerned expression as she continued. "We had been acquaintances--Asahi-chan, Sasami-chan, and myself--some seven hundred years ago, when our family frequently visited her homeworld of Ryuuten."  
"Ryuuten, huh?" asked Washuu. "That's the source of most of the hulls for the Juraian Royal Trees. Supposedly, the Hou school of craftsmen are not only masters of their art, but work a couple dozen times faster than expert sculptors of other styles, and all without using machinery."  
_ Stop stealing my spotlight! _Aeka fumed, shadowed, behind Washuu until the scientist was finished with her monologue.  
"Ahem," continued the Imperial Juraian Princess, faux-delicately. "Yes, that is correct. Asahi-chan is the daughter of Nomori Takebe, generally considered the most likely candidate for selection as the next Master Sculptor of Ryuuten. This lends Lord Takebe no small amount of prestige among the nobility, of course."  
"They say the Master Sculptor of Ryuuten functionally outranks the official planetary government, isn't that right?" interrupted Washuu over her cup of tea.  
"Hahahah! So a bunch of carpenters can kick around The Man, is what you're saying?!" piped up Ryoko, belly laughing.  
"That is all really quite irrelevant to this story, don't you think?!" Aeka grated, glaring around the table.  
"At any rate... Sasami-chan and I have known Asahi-chan since we all were children. The incident happened so quickly there was nothing we could do. We had stepped outside, when there was a commotion by the doors to the conference hall. It was not far, but by the time I had reached it, I had only a glimpse of the man disappearing with poor, helpless Asahi-chan."  
"Mihoshi read us the Galaxy Police report," commented Tenchi, "but that's about all we heard on that, either."  
"What was he like?" Ryoko interjected. "Maybe they were really just running off together. Speaking of which..." she grinned and leaned casually against Tenchi as she trailed off, and he wilted uncomfortably.  
"Can you at least save your **_rutting_** for your **_own_** time?" fumed Aeka. "And no, they were most certainly not 'running off together.' First of all, Asahi-chan has led a... rather sheltered life, and would never think of eloping, especially not with an individual of that sort. While I must admit he had... ah... dignified features, his _character_ was positively rakish and bestial.  
"Speaking of which," she concluded, smirking daintily and slyly glancing at Ryoko, "perhaps **_you_** ought to run off with him and produce little monsters somewhere."  
"So did you see anything else?" interrupted Tenchi, hoping to prevent another day of violence--and to circumvent the dining room getting demolished again--since Ryoko was looking ready to retaliate.  
Aeka glanced at Tenchi and paused in thought. "Well, I saw him only briefly, Lord Tenchi... but I do recall he wore the most peculiar costume. All in black, I remember, with a silver-ornamented coat, and a large hat with this absurd white feather rising-- Lord Tenchi?"  
She blinked at him once, and then glanced around self-consciously at the mix of surprised (Tenchi and Mihoshi) and enraged (Ryoko and Ryo-Ouki) reactions. Each of them, despite their differing reactions, had one thought in common: _Takeo_.  
"What did I say?" Aeka murmured, uncomfortably.

  
_ Clack!_  
Tenchi balanced delicately on a wooden peg driven into the ground--a feat made no easier by awkward sandals--and then leapt to another, swinging his bokken upward to knock the wooden block upward once more with precision. He winced briefly at the afternoon sun, but tried to ignore it, springing again in pursuit of his target.  
The morning, he had spent in other training. He had exercised himself physically, and his grandfather had exercised him mentally through the Tenchi-ken to improve his self-control and discipline during confrontation.  
"That," the old man had stated, "is your problem, Tenchi. You are blessed with great skill, but you panic when faced with dangerous situations. You are brave, Tenchi, but it is a thinking man's bravery; it lasts only as long as your self-control. If you plan to fight a seasoned enemy such as this Captain Kobayashi, then you must train yourself to maintain your composure in all situations and all conditions."  
And so, he had formed a mental link with Tenchi by way of the Master Key and they spent much of the morning running through psychological exercises (Washuu had dropped by to explain something about maintaining beta-waves instead of alpha-waves, the lot of which had done nothing to aid Tenchi's concentration). They had continued until Tenchi could scarcely think straight.  
A much-needed break for lunch and rest followed, after which Tenchi had headed up the hill to the usual training area, where he was practicing his agility, footwork, and precision that afternoon. _Crack!_ went the block of wood, struck by Tenchi's bokken, punctuating the tak-tak of his hard-soled sandals against the pegs which he regularly practiced on. In theory, at least, they forced him to be sure of each step he made and to maintain ideal balance when striking.  
"**_That's_** your special workout, Tenchi?"  
He stopped and glanced toward where the owned of the familiar, playful voice was reclining against a tree. "Hey, it's harder than it looks, Ryoko!"  
With that, the wooden block dropped on his head and he fell over backward with a _CRASH_.  
"Ow..."  
"Tenchi!" Ryoko yelped as she sprang up and hovered over to check on him. "You okay, Tenchi?"  
"Yeah," he replied, accepting the hand she offered, "I think so..."  
"Are you **_sure_** you're okay, Tenchiii?" she persisted, grinning and helping him up to his feet with far more contact than necessary, somewhere between fawning and molestation.  
"Really, I'm fine!" he exclaimed, reddening and struggling. "H-hey! Cut that out, Ryoko!"  
She laughed and relented, if slowly and less than enthusiastically. "So what's with hopping around like that and picking fights with blocks of wood, Tenchi? If that's supposed to be training, I wonder if the old man's pulling a fast one on you."  
"Well, it's supposed to work on balance and timing, and--"  
"Hah!" she interrupted. "That's like playing ping-pong to work on your reflexes. There's only one way **_I_** trust to get practice."  
Tenchi stared at her. "Ryoko, you spend all day sitting around, doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and loafing around."  
"**_That's_** because I've already practiced the best way there is!" she answered, smirking, one hand on her hip and the other held out to the side, open.  
"I know I'll regret asking," Tenchi replied, hesitant but resigned, "but what way is that?"  
"Life-or-death battle!" Ryoko grinned in response and propelled herself at him suddenly, slashing crosswise with her fierce red energy blade the moment it coalesced.  
"HEY!" Tenchi yelped, stumbling backward and reflexively trying to parry with his bokken, which was sliced cleanly through without offering a whit of resistance. The severed length of wood fell away unceremoniously.  
It recalled instantly their less than promising second meeting, which happened to result in Ryoko igniting a gas main and accidentally demolishing most of the high school; Tenchi still wasn't completely convinced she had only been playing.  
"C'mon, Tenchi!" she laughed, grinning fiercely and backing him against a tree--her idea of play always seemed to involve her as the cat and someone else as the mouse. "Let's get _serious_, here!"  
"**_You're_** telling **_ME _**to get serious?!" Tenchi cried in response as he ducked another slash; Ryoko's blazing weapon cut through the tree as easily as it had Tenchi's bokken and he scrambled to get out of the way as the tree leaned and fell with the crackle of sundering limbs and the thundering _CRASH_ of the trunk striking the ground.  
"C'mon! This isn't track and field, Tenchiii!" she answered, drawing out the end of his name coyly, laughter in her voice.  
In a blur, she was in front of him once again.  
Tenchi clenched his jaw and shook his head, eyes shut tightly in frustration, no move made to defend himself. "Stop it already, Ryoko! This isn't funny! This isn't the time for stupid games!"  
Ryoko blinked at his reaction, glaring and tensing. For a protracted moment, she stared at him shutting out the world, and then whipped an open hand across his face with a loud _slap_ in the stillness of the woods.  
"**_Stupid games?!_**" she growled as he staggered in surprise, eyes popped open wide, and touched a hand to his quickly reddening cheek; he couldn't remember a time when she had struck him--at least not in such a serious, even castigatory way--and it left him stunned speechless.  
"Stupid games?" she repeated, more evenly but no less sternly. "You're planning on going up against a top-of-the-list **_pirate_**. This isn't a Kendo Club meet, Tenchi; this is a life-or-death battle against a cold-blooded bastard who's--"  
She hesitated at a rare instance of swallowing her pride, and glanced away. "...who's beaten both of us before. I'm not letting you any where **_near_** him unless **_I_** know you're as ready as you can be, even if I have to hogtie you to keep you here. Don't you understand that?"  
Tenchi blinked at Ryoko, staring in quiet amazement at her wholly uncharacteristic gravity.  
"Ryoko..." he said, hesitating as she glanced toward him.  
"Sorry, Ryoko," he continued, smiling in humble contrition and absently rubbing his reddened cheek. "I shouldn't have said something like that when you're trying to help me..."  
She watched him a moment, eyes softening gradually. Without warning, she was upon him--but she only clutched him tightly, pressing her cheek against his and causing the other to redden as well.  
"Shh... it's okay, Tenchi..." she said, softly, arms wrapped about him snugly. "I shouldn't have hit you like that, either..."  
"Nn, that's all right, Ryoko. I was kind of asking for it. And besides..."  
He grinned teasingly, as the Master Key activated in his hand, behind her back. "I win!"  
Ryoko blinked and smirked. _Sneaky tactics, huh?_  
"I guess you do," she grinned, leaning and nipping playfully at his earlobe. "You're not going to **_take advantage_** of me, now that I'm at your mercy," she whispered into his ear, "**_are_** you, Tenchiii...?"  
He blushed suddenly and tensed throughout, the blue-white blade of the Master Key flickering out once again. Ryoko laughed teasingly in his ear and held him tighter; she held him so tightly he felt he bend of his ribs and heard the air hissing from his lungs despite his struggle to hold it in. She brushed a leg suggestively against his and inhaled slowly to squeeze her chest against him--Tenchi stood stock still, head swimming with crossing signals of seduction and stark terror.  
"Psychological warfare 101, Tenchi," she whispered coyly into his ear, nuzzling his face with a playful affection sharply contrasting her crushing grip.  
"Th-- that's cheating!" he wheezed with the last of his forcibly escaping breath.  
"**_Pirate_**," she answered, no less playful. "Always--**_always_**--count on a pirate to cheat. Understand?"  
He nodded slowly, and then eagerly when she didn't respond.  
Slowly, she loosed her grip on him, grinned, and kissed his cheek while he was helplessly gasping to regain the breath she had squeezed out of him. "See? Didn't I tell you this is the best way to learn?"  
"I guess it **_is_** hands-on..." he muttered reluctantly.  
"That's right!" Ryoko laughed, hovering backward.  
"Oh, and Tenchi?" she added.  
"Huh?"  
She flashed a fierce, predatory grin as she darted forward at him once more, her energy blade reforming. "Keep your guard up!"

  
Somewhere in interstellar space, a vessel of singularly excellent Hou school craftsmanship drifted lazily. Just a few short lightyears distant, several more ships of a more industrialized design hovered, carefully keeping pace with the Ryuuten craft.  
"My dear friend Mimasaka," said a young man's voice in a casually playful tone, "could you be so kind as to power up the stardrive?"  
The crystalline interface unit of Mimasaka hovered alongside the owner of the voice where he reclined in a hammock suspended from two hovering spheres, his wide-brimmed hat draped over his face with its white feather pointing straight upward. One hand played idly with the silver detailing of his coat, and the other absently tilted his pistol marked _Havermeyer 15mm_ toward the interface unit as though reminding it of the situation.  
"Scoundrel!" shrieked Mimasaka through the interface. "Villain!"  
"Let me know when you're done."  
"Knave! Rogue! Louse! ** _Pirate!_**"  
The young man lay silently in his hammock, the spheres shifting rhythmically to replicate the restful sway in the spars of a ship at sail on a gentle sea.  
"Done," Mimasaka grudgingly murmured, running out of epithets.  
"Good. Now, as I was saying, power up the stardrive."  
"Planning to run away from the Galaxy Police?" the interface unit twittered as the soft hum of the stardrive activated.  
The young man let out a peal of near-uproarious laughter (falling short of "uproarious" only because he failed to compromise his entirely relaxed posture) and reached to pat the side of the interface unit patronizingly.  
"That's cute, Mimasaka. It's a fortunate thing I hate to see a pretty girl like Miss Asahi cry, though, or I might not be quite so appreciative. Savvy?"  
He tilted up the edge of his hat when Mimasaka made no reply, smirked at the interface unit, and let the hat drop down completely over his face once again.  
"At any rate," he continued, drumming his empty hand's fingers lazily against his opposite arm, "prime the spatial flux grid to 577 terrahertz, say, 9 arc-minutes precision; and bring us about on maneuver engines, oh, let's call it 179 degrees to port, pitch down 12 degrees. You got all that?"  
"Well, yes," Mimasaka answered, confusedly. "If I might ask why--"  
"Colonial planet #0315."  
"What? You **_do_** know colonial planet #0315 is in a completely different direction," the ship's computer replied indignantly, "don't you?"  
"You're a real Chatty Nancy, aren't you." The man chuckled, gesturing carelessly with his pistol. "Finished adjusting bearing yet?"  
"Yes, yes, bearing adjusted," Mimasaka answered reluctantly.  
"Excellent. Now then, if you'd be so kind as to open me a hailing channel, bypassing all comm systems **_starting_** with post-scrambling, and **_shunt_** the signal **_through_** the spatial flux grid," he said in the almost sing-song, jaded tone of a professor repeating simple instructions for the third time to an inattentive student.  
Mimasaka's interface unit hung silently in the air for a moment, bewildered, before complying. "You mean to transmit a secure signal by subspatial resonance?"  
"Quick one, eh?" The young man reached into his pocket, producing a data storage unit. "And I want you to show only what's on **_this_** as our video transmission."

Far away, on Ryuuten, the signal arrived almost instantly, allowed by the singular properties of subspace to bypass the lightspeed limit of normal spacetime. Three figures, varying in size, but each wrapped in a dark, hooded shroud, stood by the console which had detected it.  
"It's a subspace carrier wave," said the shortest, almost casually. "Strange..."  
"Strange?" inquired the figure of intermediate size, nonchalant. "How so, Mushima?"  
"The signature travels like stardrive wake, broad across the subspace band, but at a set frequency," answer Mushima. "I suspect it must be someone who doesn't want the transmission to be noticed, Hishima."  
"**_Gyeh_**," commented the tallest, deeply.  
"Yes, Takashima, I agree," Hishima replied. "Let us answer this call."  
Mushima keyed in the commands to open a communications channel, tuning his sophisticated bank of equipment to reply with a similar subspace carrier wave. As the video screen activated, it displayed only a still-frame image of a white skull above crossed white cutlasses, all on a black background.  
Hishima stared at the image, briefly silent.  
"Is this a joke?" he asked, only in part rhetorically.  
"A joke?" echoed a young man's voice over the communication channel, his tone contumeliously relaxed; he sounded distinctly as though he felt he could be doing hundreds of other things with his time if so inspired.  
"Why, not at all," he continued, lazily. "That right there is Captain 'Calico' Jack Rackam's Jolly Roger, there, circa early 18th century, Earth. You ought to pay it a little respect; the fellow may have had a little trouble with catching a lady more than he could handle, but few aside were the men who captured the piratical spirit like Calico Jack. And actually, I may just have a little business offer in which you fine gentlemen might be interested."  
_ A pirate with a "business offer,"_ Hishima thought, considering the idea coldly. He doubted he would care what the outlaw had to say, but knew he stood to lose nothing by listening.  
"What is this offer you speak of?"  
"You're looking for a certain set of files, aren't you? I can deliver those to you--for a price. And I'm only willing to negotiate the final deal with your boss."  
Mushima and Takashima looked to Hishima as he stood quietly regarding the Jolly Roger grinning morbidly at them.  
"You seem quite well-informed."  
"It's got to do with my line of business. Now, just in case you're not interested enough to work with me, I'm sure I could find plenty of **_other_** people out there eager to snatch up the Hou secrets of the Royal Trees; but I'm willing to bet **_you're_** willing to come through for me. Isn't that right?"  
"Hmh. What is your name?"  
"You can call me Captain Takeo Kobayashi, for now; then again, why not just 'Captain.' I've got a feeling we'll be getting along nicely, so long as you don't try to back out of anything, don't you?"  
"You know where the files are now?" inquired Hishima, unhurried but equally uninterested in idle chatter.  
"More or less, more or less; I know far better than you do, to say the least. I'll get in contact with you again when I'm ready to iron things out with your boss. Just remember: if I don't give you the files, they're going to the highest bidder. And if that's the Royalty, I guess it'll be too bad for you, wouldn't you say?"  
"Quite," Hishima replied stiffly, growing irritated by the pirate's unabating insolence.  
"Excellent!" answered the voice over the console's speakers. "You'll be hearing from me before too much longer, then. I like the cloaks, by the way: very mysterious, very chic."  
"Close the channel," said Hishima gruffly.  
Mushima complied. "Heh. Sounds like a plucky child, eh Hishima?"  
"No matter. If this fool can produce the files, then all the better. We may yet be on schedule, after all."  
"Gyeh?" inquired Takashima.  
"If not?," repeated Hishima. "Heh. Well, the master will decide what his fate shall be, whether he keeps up his end of the bargain or not."

**Stay Tuned for the Next Chapter...**  
_Kenage na Dakkai Muyou:_  
No Need for Daring Rescues!

_ Tenchi finally sets out to confront the nefarious pirate, prepared for a life-or-death battle, and this time, he has company! But will they find Aeka and Sasami's childhood friend in time to save her from whatever fate the rakish Takeo Kobayashi (**Captain** Takeo Kobayashi!) has in store for her? Will he succeed in getting what he's after? And is even he prepared to deal with his mysterious new business associates and their ruthless boss?_


	5. Kenage na Dakkai Muyou

Chapter V  
**Kenage na Dakkai Muyou  
(No Need for Heroic Rescues)**  


_ "I am not a hero. I just did what any decent person would have done."  
-- Miep Gies (1909-)_

The air shuddered with isometric forces as the formidable mass of Ryo-Ouki's starship form hovered, motionless to human perception, at an idling altitude of several meters. Minute fluctuations in the equilibrium between the Earth's gravity well and the ship's kinetic induction field generated a drawn out, shuddering _thrum_ and produced turbulent but short-lived air currents which spiraled and wove across the ground below.  
"Myaaaa!" complained the ship, impatiently.  
"Well, you'll just have a wait a bit longer," answered Ryoko reprovingly, her arms crossed. "Personally, I'd rather leave her behind, but Tenchi insisted we should take her."  
More accurately, Aeka had insisted on joining the group, and Tenchi had supported her argument on the grounds that she had been close childhood friends with the girl they were planning to rescue; and once that precedent was established, it was impossible to dissuade Sasami. Although the plan had been to leave that morning, the schedule had been pushed back to leave time for Aeka and Sasami to pack.  
Aeka and Sasami arrived promptly at the newly appointed time, each carrying a valise, and both of them followed by a moving heap of luggage. Only after the bags were stowed away inside was a worn out Tenchi revealed, and Ryoko was latched onto him immediately.  
"Poor Tenchi!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his head and clasping him tearfully to her chest, ignoring his struggle to resist. "Look at how she's already turning you into a porter, condemned to years of hard labor!"  
"Unhand him at once!" Aeka grated furiously, while reaching quickly to cover Sasami's eyes. "If you hadn't noticed, Lord Tenchi hardly needs to handle any more **_baggage_**."  
"Hey, you're the one treating him like a pack animal," Ryoko answered, and--never one to be shamed by charges of impudence or sauciness--smirked defiantly at Aeka.  
"As for myself," she added, suggestively, "I'd have him doing things he'd like **_much_** better."  
Aeka reddened at the implication, wishing for a second pair of hands to cover her sister's ears, as well--and perhaps a third, with which to throttle Ryoko--but resigned herself to only glaring fiercely. "Will you at least let him breathe?!"  
"Nrgh... r-Ryoko!" Tenchi gasped in the most castigatory tone he could muster given the distraction, grasping her shoulders and pushing with all his might for air.  
"Okay, okay," she sighed reluctantly, loosening her grip and hovering around to hold him from behind, pressed close against his back and grinning tauntingly over his shoulder. "You see how tired you got him, Aeka, forcing him to carry everything for you? If you're going to wear him out, you could at least do it **_nicely_**."  
"Agh... cut it out already, Ryoko!" Tenchi objected embarassedly, trying to pry her hands off of himself. "And I **_offered_** to carry all those bags, so it's not really fair to pick a fight with Aeka over it..."  
"But Tenchiiii--" Ryoko began, plaintively. _Why are you taking **her** side?_ she wondered.  
"Uh... hey, if we're going," he interrupted gently, "shouldn't get on board and start off quickly? I mean, we're already behind schedule, and everything."  
Ryoko paused briefly at his less than surprising evasiveness, keeping her disappointment internal; she might be willing to put her pride on the line over him, but not without a chance of profit. "Yeah, you're right," she answered in a mischievous tone. "Just make sure you hold on really **_tight_**."  
She grinned, grasping Tenchi close against her, as though squeezing out of him just one more moment of entertainment; she couldn't help but enjoy the way he got flustered, the way he so clearly liked it but struggled not to, the way Aeka lost instantaneously that prized self-control she was so haughty about.  
"For the **_last_** time--" Aeka started, eyes blazing.  
Ryoko laughed out loud, interrupting Aeka's furious reprimand, and released Tenchi as she turned in the air to face her Cabbit companion.  
"Ready to go, Ryo-Ouki?!"  
"Miyaaaaaaa!" replied the starship.  
"Then bring us on board, and take off!"  
"Myaa Myaaaa!" Ryo-Ouki answered, transporting her passengers on board in a flare of red light, and launched off into the sky at dozens of Earth gravities, leaving a shockwave in the air behind it.

  
When Asahi woke, a short time passed before she remembered the terrible situation she was in, captive to a dangerous outlaw with unknown intentions. Her head swam in a frenzy of fears and questions.  
How long had she been out?  
What was he planning to do with her?  
Why had he taken her, rather than a member of the royal family?  
What would end up happening to her dear Mimasaka?  
She shook her head in a vain effort to clear it of her worries, but in her state of uncertainly, danger, and helplessness, it was a struggle to keep herself from weeping--a struggle at which she could feel herself slowly failing as the tension built within her and her breath caught in her tightening throat. She wiped at her face with the sleeve of her robes and tried, uselessly, to wish away the tears slowly welling in her eyes. Her situation was troubling enough without making it humiliating, as well.  
"Shh, now," said a voice at the side of her bed. It was a distantly familiar voice, casual and prideful by nature, but sounding in a gentle tone. "I hope those tears aren't on **_my_** account."  
Asahi looked up toward the source of the voice, and almost dived entirely under her covers when she laid eyes on him, but restrained herself with effort. She had only glimpsed him before--that much, she could remember, and it explained at least some of the nagging sense of familiarity--but now she had a better look at him, and it made her that much more uncomfortable.  
Silently, she wished he was more frightening; she wished that had were ugly and terrible with leathery skin and tusks, like a real monster. But he was shockingly handsome, in a classical way; as a sculptor and aficionado of artwork, Asahi had an eye for form and detail, and this young man was a contradictory image. His features were almost regal, but his attitude was rakish; his raiment was formal bordering on military, but in an unorthodox, leather-heavy style, and his carriage was quite debonair.  
His complexity and good looks were what made her uncomfortable, for it was hard to fear him in the simple, clean-cut way she knew she should, and that left her to worry whether she was thinking reasonably. When he flashed a grin at her, it seemed playful yet ultimately benign, and it left her unsure whether to be terrified or embarassed.  
"W- who are you?" she stammered feebly as she came out of her reverie, peeking at him over the edge of her covers and keeping her face hidden as best she could for fear that she might blush--knowing that, having thought of it, it was inevitable.  
"Captain Takeo Kobayashi," he answered, sitting in a chair close at her bedside. "Number one most wanted outlaw in the galaxy. Shh, now, don't look so worried, Asahi-chan. If I was planning to hurt you, we'd be well past that point, by now."  
"And here," he added with a playful grin, pulling a handkerchief from up his embellished coat sleeve and handing it to her. "I hate to see such a pretty face stained with tears."  
Asahi timidly accepted the handkerchief, murmuring an uncertain thanks, and dabbed at her eyes, covering the blush on her cheeks with the immaculate white cloth. Its pure whiteness was compromised only by the tastefully delicate silver embroidery along the very edge.  
With her eyes dried, Asahi peered over the handkerchief to see the pirate still sitting motionlessly and watching her with a quiet thoughtfulness and a quasi-pensive expression halfway between amusement and profound contemplation.  
"Why--" she began to ask, haltingly, finding her voice reluctant and timid with an apprehension more disabling than fear of bodily harm. "W-why do you stare at me like that...?"  
Takeo casually smirked, returning instantly from the twilight inner realm he had inhabited between attention and introspection. "Why do I stare, Asahi-chan?" he echoed, and flashed half a bright, rakish grin like the muzzle flash of a warning shot fired across a ship's bow. "Well, since you asked, I only wait until you move that kerchief aside and let me decide for myself as to whether you're quite as pretty as I've heard tell--although I can assure you it's a near thing, and so far, certainly in your favor."  
All the more resolutely, in response, Asahi held the shielding white cloth in place, feeling the dull crimson warmth of embarassment rising heavier in her face. Proper and demure as she was, her youth had been an exceptionally sheltered one, as well, and she had scarcely learned at all to think of herself as more than a girl. Although almost childlike in appearance and demeanor, preserved in the same manner as her peers Aeka and Sasami, she shared their centuries of age.  
"You- you'll make me blush..." she murmured through the kerchief, half-truth as it was.  
"Oh, **_will_** I?" Takeo laughed, good-humoredly, as the color risen in Asahi's face crested as high as her eyes, unconcealed. "But Asahi-chan, how better to be assured of your beauty? In fact, I swear to you sincerely that it'll be no trouble at all on my account to see you with a blush in your cheeks."  
Asahi hesitated, only reddening further. "You swear," she responded timidly, "that you really intend no harm...?"  
He rested formally his right hand over his left breast and grinned with a rakish charm.  
"Pirate's honor."

  
Tenchi stood aboard Ryo-Ouki, watching stars drift into his peripheral vision from behind and gather slowly together in the distance ahead. They all wandered lazily toward a single, unexceptional point of light, each one moving at its own pace.  
_I've never been so far from home_, he thought, and then laughed quietly at himself for it. It sounded like something he should think if he went to college in Okinawa or something; he knew he must have already been **_lightyears_** away, by then, and his sense of distance was made meaningless by the sheer scale. Kilometers, he could sort of grasp, but how could he fathom the length of a lightyear? He didn't even **_want_** to imagine the speed they must have been travelling at.  
"It's amazing," he murmured, forgetting his immediate surroundings for the scenery.  
"Mmm, isn't it, though?" purred a soft voice in his ear as arms wraped around him diagonally, and a soft body pressed close against his from behind. The voice was soft in as much as an enraged tiger's fur is soft, for Tenchi instantly felt an all too familiar warning of danger arc up from the base of his spine; but the brief, silent visceral cry arrived too late for any defense to be prepared.  
"R-Ryoko...!"  
"Come on, Tenchiiii," she cooed, either pleadingly or coquettishly. "Can't I even enjoy the view with you?"  
_Can't you do that from **another** window?_ he considered. Then, _what's that got to do with grabbing me?_ Or maybe _didn't you speed hundreds of years seeing this view?_  
Tenchi sighed and shook his head the least amount, discarding each dismissive response he thought of; even if she **_was_** too forward to handle, he still couldn't bring himself to knock her down like that when she was just being affectionate.  
Even if it was totally unsolicited.  
"Uh... yeah, I guess so, Ryoko."  
He repressed another sigh in response to her gleeful reaction; there was nothing he could do to avoid cringing, but she didn't seem to respond to it, so Tenchi simply relaxed as much as he could and watched the stars flee into the distance behind Ryo-Ouki.  
_All the distance she's covered, the things she's seen--both of them, both Ryoko and Miss Aeka--and she wants to be near **me**; and me? I want to push her away when she gets close. Now there's something **really** amazing._  
_Or maybe_, he thought, _I'm just imagining all of it; maybe she's just playing, like a cat with a mouse. I know I didn't do anything to deserve getting surrounded by girls like these... and I'm sure I never asked for it!_  
"Tenchi?"  
Blinking out of his reverie at the sound of Ryoko's voice carrying a tone of concern, he realized how tense he had grown, and made himself relax as best he could. _Does she really act that well?_ he wondered. _Could all of it just be a game?_  
"Uh-- I'm fine, Ryoko. I've just really got a lot on my mind, that's all--the upcoming fight, and everything. Especially after all that talk about how dangerous this'll be, from training. You know?"  
Ryoko's voice fell silent for a short time before answering; when it did, it was with only a hushed few words, but they meant far more by their tone and context than those words alone.  
"I know, Tenchi," she answered with an uncharacteristically pure and sincere tenderness. "Just don't worry **_too_** much, all right?. I have faith in you."  
Tenchi would have been deeply moved, but Ryoko's statement didn't have the chance to sink in entirely; he only got as far as blushing.  
"You two should get a room, at this rate," observed Washuu, who hadn't been there--who hadn't, for that matter, boarded as far as anyone could tell--standing less than a foot away.  
Ryoko fell to the floor with a _CRASH_, and Tenchi jumped away reflexively from the unexpected appearance.  
"W-Washuu?!" Tenchi stammered in surprise.  
Ryoko was on her feet again almost instantly, clutching the miniature scientist by the lapels of her vintage late-era Imperial Science Academy uniform.  
"When did **_you_** get here?!" the pirate growled in vexation.  
"Before we took off, obviously," Washuu replied coolly, green eyes unhesitant to meet golden, sparking that much more frustration.  
"I know they say there are no stupid questions," she added, shaking her head disapprovingly, "but sometimes I really wonder."  
"Why you little--" Ryoko began, twitching furiously with bright red arcs of plasma-lightning crackling around her, and resisted the impulse to throttle the redhead without entirely knowing why.  
"What the hell are you **_doing_** here?!" she growled, instead.  
"Research," Washuu answered, with a placid, almost childlike expression. "Are you done wrinkling my collar, yet?"  
"Shit," Ryoko hissed under her breath offhandedly and released Washuu a little more roughly than necessary, although the latter took it entirely in stride, calmly straightening her creased lapels.  
"This suit is nearly 20,000 years old," Washuu scolded casually. "You should be more careful with it, Ryoko." Ryoko crossed her arms and glared defiantly, ignoring the suggestion.  
"Umm," Tenchi interjected, "so what are you here to research, anyway, Miss Washuu?"  
"Just 'Washuu,'" she corrected sternly. "In part, to observe how Ryoko performs under stress. So far, it's pretty depressing, especially for her mother."  
Ryoko twitched and fumed quietly, off to the side.  
"But there's the more pressing issue of a strange subspace disturbance; that transverse space-time geometry fluctuation decoupling I mentioned, all the way back in Chapter One."  
Tenchi and Ryoko could only stare blankly as Washuu demolished the Fourth Wall.  
"Anyway, I studied the phenomenon as much as I could from Earth, but I need to do some on-site investigation to get a complete picture of that subspace anomaly, and you just happen to be headed my way, so I hitched a ride."  
"I'll probably regret this," Tenchi began, "but what's a 'subspace anomaly,' and why's it important?"  
Washuu smirked quietly, taking a short moment to bask in the glow of her own vast mastery of science, ready to be imparted to those thirsting for knowledge; then she snapped her fingers, and a projection screen dropped from nowhere, behind her.  
"I'm glad you asked," she answered, swinging a pointer to indicate a diagram of a simple light blue plane on a black background.  
"As you may know, but probably don't, even Earth's science has progressed to the point of beginning to understand our spacetime as being a four-dimensional membrane, or _brane_, within a series of higher dimensions, or _superdimensions_. If you think of three-dimensional space being analagous to this plane, here, then the space around it is the first superdimension, which is usually called _subspace_."  
The image changed to one of Ryo-Ouki's starship form in the midst of a red-on-black grid.  
"Now then, because energy equals mass times the square of the speed of light in vacuum, the faster you move, the more mass you gain from kinetic energy. That means that as you accelerate, you asymptotically approach a certain velocity--and that's the speed of light. But obviously, in a nation tens of thousands of lightyears from edge to edge, lightspeed just isn't fast enough."  
The grid began, on one side of Ryo-Ouki's image, to buckle like bunched up cloth, and those wrinkles spread outward around it like ripples in a pond.  
"The way most ships get around the lightspeed barrier is by manipulating subspace to create wrinkles in the natural brane. The ship thus slips in and out of four-dimensional spacetime; the bigger the wrinkles, the more normal space gets covered in a unit of time. The galaxy police use a related principle to create an artificial brane inside of subspace and tie a point on it to the natural brane, creating an almost inviolable prison."  
Ryoko was fast asleep on Tenchi's shoulder. He rubbed his eyes, and tried to resist the vertigo of abject confusion.  
"Um--"  
"I'm not done yet," Washuu scolded.  
"Err-- yeah," Tenchi continued, "but could you break it down a little?"  
"I **_am_** breaking it down," Washuu objected, scowling and crossing her arms. "But fine. The anomaly involved decoupled transverse subspace waves, which normally only occur in stardrive wake or near spinning black holes--but they appeared in a sharp, one-time burst, and I've been watching their echoes off of large gravity wells. It was almost like an artificial brane collapsing, but it had strange harmonics. Anyway, that's what I'm investigating."  
"Okay," Tenchi answered. "One more question."  
"Go ahead!" Washuu beamed enthusiastically.  
"Do you have an aspirin?"  
Ryo-Ouki shook as the great scientist in the universe collapsed with exasperation.  
As if on cue, the habitable area within Ryo-Ouki suddenly began to flash with a bright, jarringly red ambient light, and Ryoko quickly snapped out of her lecture-induced stupor.  
"Myaaa-myaaaaaaa!" announced the ship, as Washuu climbed dazedly to her feet.  
"What's going on?" Tenchi asked, looking around at the commotion, not especially set at ease by Ryoko's expression.  
She was grinning dangerously, obviously enjoying herself.  
"Get ready, Tenchi! We're running the Mimasaka blockade!"

  
"Eh? Running the blockade, huh?"  
Mimasaka's main unit hovered around the nefarious pirate, flitting about anxiously, almost frantically.  
"Don't you understand?! According to files, that's the infamous space-pirate Ryo-Ouki, unseen for--"  
"Yeah, about seven hundred years. So?" Takeo was relaxing unconcernedly in his hammock. "I've run more blockades than you could shake a stick at. No Jurai puns intended."  
"Don't you know anything? Ryo-Ouki exterminated twenty-eight planets and sixty-nine colonies! How can you be so relaxed?!"  
Takeo flashed a grin. "Because Ryo-Ouki works for the Demoness Pirate Ryoko. And I already wiped the floor with her. Glad you've been cooperating with me?"  
Mimasaka fell silent for a moment in dumb shock, pausing to process that new information.  
Then it hovered a little lower, shaken by growing worry for Asahi.  
"W-what are you planning to do, then?"  
"I'm planning to deal with it myself. There's no sense having you pick a fight with Ryo-Ouki, or trying to keep Ryoko from boarding, if she wants to. But don't worry, it's all going according to plan."  
He flashed a rakish grin, which seemed to produce no great relief on Mimasaka's part.  
"Well," the interface unit answered uneasily, "somehow that is still less than reassuring."  
"Hahah! Don't be such a nervous nelly, eh Mimasaka? I promise I'll not allow Asahi-chan to be hurt in the upcoming exchange--on the condition that you'll apologize to her on my behalf."  
"Apologize?" Mimasaka echoed as mockingly as it dared, and with its nervous energy channelled into a certain indignation. "Ryo-Ouki is at 100 million kilometers and rapidly closing. If you think you can clear yourself of this crime simply by--"  
Takeo laughed heartily and shook his head. "Mimasaka, Mimasaka. I'll miss these little chats. But I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to perform a full higher functions diagnostic, now."  
Mimasaka fell briefly silent.  
"What? But do you not realize I will be incapacitated for hours? This is hardly the time--"  
"That's an order. Start at once, or you'll be incapacitated until they find a way to fix a bullethole big enough to squeeze through. Careful, now, how you play your cards, or I'll have even more to apologize to Asahi-chan for."  
The interface unit hung silently in the air for a moment, almost vibrating with frustration and outrage at its total impotence.  
"Very well," it answered at length. After another brief pause, the crystaline interface unit went entirely silent, its soft radiance dulling to only the faintest impression of a glow.  
It was a less than a minute later when the first of the expected guests burst into the open main deck from the residential section: Tenchi stood in the open door, clutching the Tenchi-ken in his hand.  
"Well, Masaki," Takeo began convivially, "it's nice to see I didn't put too much of a damper on your heroic impulses. I'd be pretty badly disappointed if one little gunshot made a coward of you." He flashed a grin, leaning casually against the great tree at the center of the ship's habitation area.  
"You're not getting away, this time!" Tenchi answered, trying to ignore the taunts. "You've got nowhere to go, now--there aren't any other ships close to Mimasaka, and you're surrounded, here."  
Takeo chuckled and stepped away from the tree, spreading his arms to the sides. "Well, it looks like you've got me cornered, then, doesn't it? I guess all that's left is to come and subdue me, right?"  
Tenchi scowled suspiciously. "Why don't you just give up already? Even if you're a criminal, **_I'd_** rather just see you arrested--but I'm not sure about Ryoko, or even Miss Aeka, after everything you--"  
Tenchi stopped in midsentence, seeing Takeo flash a dangerously feral and strikingly familiar grin.  
"Hah! So you **_did_** bring the Crown Princess. Well, I certainly appreciate you being so accomodating. Now, if you'll just step aside, and maybe point out where she's at--"  
Tenchi tensed and glared, grasping the Master Key, the sword which bore his name, tightly with both hands as it flared to life. "I'm not letting you **_near_** Miss Aeka--**_or_** Ryoko!"  
"Hahahah! Well, kid," the pirate answered, "you're welcome to come over here and stop me, if you really think you can. But if you don't get to it quick I'll get bored."  
Tenchi paused. _However much I hate this, I can't keep stalling_, he thought, hesitating briefly--and then sprang forward, at last, with all his compressed tension, launching a crosswise slash at his opponent.  
But Takeo only laughed mockingly, his own searing red energy sword forming just in time to deflect Tenchi's blade and beat it aside, followed by a syncopated kick which sent the young man staggering backward, into a panel on the wall; a section of floor slid open, although Tenchi scarcely noticed it at all. He coughed, struggling to regain his breath and to keep the Tenchi-ken from flickering out.  
"You're never going to make me get serious until **_you_** do, Masaki," Takeo chided in a tone half of amusement and half of disappointment. "You should have that figured out pretty well, by this point. Now quit dithering, and either fight me or run and hide."  
The pirate grinned with a carefree ferocity as he dashed forward almost in a blur, his blazing red weapon slicing through the air.  
"Everything you do, Masaki! Everything you do, do it for real!"  
Tenchi ducked aside as the attack left a mark across the panel he had stumbled into; he spun and slashed in a rising arc which Takeo parried, returning again quickly to the pursuit, pushing Tenchi back toward the door he had entered from.  
"Every step, every strike, every block, every flight--place in each of these the value of your life, and laugh in the face of death!"  
The outlaw's monologue fell poetically into step with the rhythm of the battle, switching fluidly from matching Tenchi's kenjutsu into a wildly flamboyant swashbuckling technique.  
"If you're serious, then do everything with every fiber of your being, or you're as good as dead!"  
Tenchi continued to fight desparately, tense like a coiled spring, slowly giving ground before his opponent's strength and speed. _Damnit_, Tenchi thought, _he's right! This is just like what grandpa's been telling me-- I'm overthinking instead of doing what I need to!_  
Willfully forgetting offense for the moment, Tenchi returned to what he had spent all that time practicing with his grandfather, letting his fear and tension and expectation slide away; he parried quickly, but cleanly rather than frantically; he defended against attacks he felt, rather than expected, and the Tenchi-ken danced a fierce triple-time tango with the pirate's blade.  
Feeling his own balance and certainty, Tenchi began to hold his ground once again--and none too soon, for he found that he was just at the edge of the open space where the floor had opened earlier. Twice he parried, then feigned and struck to keep the pirate's weapon busy. As he felt the parry, he let himself slacken, and he moved as the riposte began:  
With only the most cursory parry, he slipped around to the side and quickly behind his enemy. As he pivoted, he swung as though to set free the outlaw's head; when Takeo ducked--as Tenchi had felt sure he would--he gave his own syncopated kick, and sent the pirate tumbling into the open space in the floor. Now that he had a closer look, Tenchi saw a set of four wooden sculptures in that lowered area.  
"Hahah! That's better!" laughed Takeo as he sprang off his free hand from the sub-floor and landed squarely on his feet. "**_Infinitely_** better. **_Now_** you're starting to impress me!"  
"**_I'll_** give you something to be impressed by, you cocky bastard!" came a fierce cry from above as a great ball of arcing plasma blazed down into the depression in the floor, knocking Tenchi clean off his feet with the force of the resulting explosion.  
"W-what--?!" coughed Tenchi as he looked about, brushing away some splinters. A large cube was rising up from under the smoldering sub-floor, and the remains of the statues were strewn all about the area; and a familiar victory laugh rang out as the source of the interruption revealed itself.  
"Ryoko?!"  
"Aaahahaha! How was **_that?!_**" the legendary demoness grinned as much girlishly as ferally but near bursting with pride, hands on her hips. "**_Now_** who's the greatest pirate, **_huh?!_**"  
"Click," said a voice behind her.  
Ryoko tensed.  
"Pretend I have a revolver pointed at the back of your head," continued the gratingly familiar voice, "and that you just heard me pull the hammer back. Now pretend the bullet that revolver fires will go through an inch of hullmetal easier than I go through a liter of vodka. And don't try to teleport, because we both know I'll see it coming a lightyear away."  
Tenchi half-rose, but stopped abruptly with a warning glance from a somewhat singed Takeo, who stood behind Ryoko with his pistol, the Havermeyer 15mm, aimed just as he'd insinuated.  
"Just think, old lady," chuckled the pirate. "What I could do to your head right now would put Gallagher to shame, don't you think?"  
Ryoko growled, but didn't move. "**_Shuttup!_**" was her sole response.  
"Well played," Takeo answered sarcastically, with the laughter in his voice scarcely masked at all. "Well played."  
"How the hell did you get out of there?!" she snarled, almost shaking with tension, but keeping still.  
"_Daetirian_, old lady."  
"Da-**_what_**-ian?"  
"You don't know much, for such an ancient fossil."  
Ryoko's fingers twitched, bright red arcs of plasma-lightning dancing up her arms.  
"Damnit, let her go!" Tenchi exclaimed furiously. "She's not what you wanted! You wanted to fight me; so **_fight me!_** Are you a hotshot pirate, or just a cowardly bully?!"  
Takeo glanced in his direction, for the briefest moment seeming entirely serious--but it was gone again in an instant, and he laughed.  
"You're right, Masaki. This old bag of bones really isn't what I'm here for at all, and I don't need her now that she destroyed the lock to what I'm after. So I'd better get her out of the way, eh?"  
He flashed a feral grin, flicked his thumb across one of an assortment of switches on his pistol, and casually pulled the trigger.

  
A forest in the night leaves no question as to why mankind is so very superstitious by nature. A forest in the night is a mirthless, alien landscape which births monsters and shadows and things the mind is unready to understand, in the time before light--and in the time after, those monsters and shadows and mysterious things remain. But they have taken up residence within the mind where they are all the stronger, for only the fullest light can subdue them.  
A forest in the night is where Takeo stood, waiting. The forest's monsters and shadows did not quite affect him the way they did so many others; but then, while Takeo was many things, a normal man was certainly not one of them.  
He stood quietly, reclining carelessly against a tree, and whistling to himself absentmindedly; _Blow the Man Down_, an old sea shanty from Earth, was what had come to mind, and so he whistled it as he pondered his scheme.  
So far, it was going exactly as intended. He had retrieved the files from Mimasaka as planned, and the look on Tenchi Masaki's face had made all the effort Takeo had thus far expended worthwhile a hundred times over already; and things were only just getting good!  
"Oi, you can stop lurking, there," the pirate said, discarding his train of thought, "or I'll start to think you're trying to look at my ass."  
A tenebrous and near-formless figure drifted out from the shadows--followed by a second smaller form, and then a third, larger.  
"You guys just live to do that, don't you."  
"I am Hishima," said the mid-sized figure, plainly ignoring Takeo's accusative banter. "These are Mushima and Takashima."  
"Gyeh," commented Takashima, the largest of the three.  
"Yes," Hishima agreed: "Business. You have the files?"  
"I said I have them when I called you, didn't I?" Takeo answered in an affronted tone. "Are you implying you don't have faith in me, gentlemen? After all, trust is the essential foundation of trade, and-- well, if you, my business parters, can't bring yourselves to **_trust_** me--"  
Hishima, having not the slightest interest in nugatose chatter, calmly but inhesitantly interrupted once satisfied that the pirate's monologue was going nowhere of consequence.  
"Where are they?"  
"Who?" Takeo blinked, hands clasped behind his head.  
"Stop being an idiot!" grated Mushima irately.  
"Well, if you're going to cop an attitude--"  
"Enough," interrupted Hishima. "I apologize for Mushima, but we are not here to be involved in foolishness. If you are not here to conduct business, then you are wasting our time."  
Takeo smirked and shook his head.  
"Fine, fine," the pirate sighed, "be that way. But you're half right. I'm not here to do business with you at all."  
"Why you--" Mushima glared from under his cowl, looking ready to pounce, but for Hishima's arm reaching across to restrain him.  
"There's just **_one_** person I'm going to be doing business with, my fine lads," Takeo replied with a grin; "and that's your **_boss_**."  
He paused just long enough to let them anticipate.  
"Professor Yume."

**Stay Tuned for the Next Chapter...**  
_Taiketsu Muyou:_  
No Need for a Confrontation!

_ Takeo meets at last with Yume and reveals his goal--but how does he know so much about her shadowy plans and her henchmen? Now that they understand what he's really after, can Tenchi and company stop him in time? There's no hope unless they can track him down, but Washuu's legendary archrival certainly won't give up without a fight! And now, she has yet another formidable champion to stand against our heroes! Is Tenchi really ready for the big fight?! _


	6. Taiketsu Muyou

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I've been too wrapped up with classwork and other writing projects to even touch this, recently, but I figure I owe you guys at least this half-chapter I've got so far… whenever I can, I'll replace it with a full one, and hopefully finish up the story. Sorry about the sluggishness!

Taiketsu Muyou

(No Need for Confrontation)

_ "He needed to make deals . . . . a deal meant an opponent, an opponent  
meant confrontation and confrontation was the source of his strength."  
-- Peter Evans, on Aristotle Onassis_

Mimasaka hung placidly in the speckled black hard vacuum of interstellar space where a small fleet of Galaxy Police craft, powerful and sleek monuments to millennia of engineering advances, encircled it at a respectful distance.

Inside that masterfully crafted Ryuten ship, Asahi's head was swimming out of delirium.

"Ah- wha-"

"Shh," hushed a half-discerned mop of red, wavering gradually into focus as the girl regained consciousness. "It's all right, Lady Asahi. You're safe aboard your ship. We're friends of Lady Aeka and Lady Sasami, and they're here, too."

On more conscious inspection, the red-haired woman (she had spoken, at least, with the self-possession of an adult) leaning over Asahi had the face and even stature of a child—more so than Asahi, or even her old friend Sasami.

"They... they're here...? But-" Asahi murmured, starting to sit up with the redhead's aid, "but that man..."

"That ruffian is gone now, thank goodness!" piped a familiar voice, concerned and tender despite an inclination to indignity at the moment. "The scoundrel did nothing to mistreat you, did he?"

Asahi smiled, seeming to regain some composure upon recognizing her childhood friend Aeka, and shook her head. "Aeka! I... no... he was quite kind, in fact..."

She paused suddenly, feeling under the obscurement of her kimono sleeve the handkerchief unconsciously clutched in her hand, and she flushed faintly.

"No, he was very kind," she repeated, shaking her head. Glancing around the room, she smiled at the sight of Aeka and Sasami sitting dotingly at her bedside, and the gentle-looking (if ever so vaguely familiar) young man with them—until she spotted the last girl, with a red-stained mop of spiky hair.

"I-i-is that-!" she stammered, eyes wide.

Aeka sighed, eyes closed as though numbing herself to an uncomfortable truth. "Yes, that is indeed the one-time pirate Ryoko."

"Hey, whatta mean _one-time_?" Ryoko growled from the back.

"O-oh..." Asahi paused. She hesitated. "But why is her hair red?"

"Shuttup!" Ryoko snarled, on her feet immediately, with Tenchi struggling to quiet her down as Asahi scurried back against the headboard of her bed.

"It's paint," Washuu sighed. "She tried to fight this Captain Kobayashi, and got reckless. She's lucky to still have a head, never mind a new hair color."

Ryoko fumed and sulked furiously.

"I see..." Asahi answered reluctantly, still somewhat taken aback.

Then, without warning, she sat upright so quickly Washuu fell over backward. "Wait!" she cried frantically. "Is Mimasaka all right!"

"Quite all right, Lady Asahi!" twittered the interface module as it whisked in through the door of the room, shying clear of Ryoko and the cabbit perched on her shoulder. "I am glad that barbarian did not harm you. But- but I must tell you—"

Asahi, clutching the hovering crystal and instantly relieved, blinked at the ship's hesitation.

"What is it, Mimasaka?"

"Firstly, before I was forced into diagnostic stasis, the brute requested... ah... that I transmit to you an apology."

"A- an apology?" the girl echoed, bewildered.

The others glanced between themselves at that; Washuu tapped her chin thoughtfully.

Mimasaka hesitated. "And also, I must inform you that there is a call from your father. Surely, he is very worried."

"Oh!" Asahi quickly dabbed at her cheeks with the handkerchief to be sure she was presentable, and then tucked it away again with the singular speed of the self-conscious. "Yes, please give us a screen, then, Mimasaka."

A holographic display formed, dominated by the face of Nomori Takebe, half-obscured by his hair, as per usual.

"Asahi! Is everything all right!" he gushed with almost overwhelming emotion. "I was only told of your release a moment ago!"

"Oh, father!" She smiled soothingly. "Yes, I am safe and all right, father... he did not harm me, and he was very kind. But... I do wonder..."

There was a silence as Asahi paused.

"He asked that Mimasaka apologize to me, on his behalf, and I do not understand why..."

"If I may interrupt," Aeka answered the half-question with only the slightest222 effort to subdue her indignation-by-proxy, "the ruffian did kidnap you and steal your ship, after all."

"Yes, I suppose... but why would he not say it sooner, then? He did not seem the kind who hesitates..."

There was another brief silence, through which Nomori gave the impression of scowling, although the wood-sculptor's hair quite effectively masked his eyes.

"Mimasaka," he said, with a seriousness all the more impressive by comparison to his almost overemotional greeting. "What of the statues?"

"The statues?" echoed Asahi, wonderingly.

"Ah," Mimasaka answered, stalling. "Ah, yes, the statues."

Asahi glanced quietly from the image of her father's grim expression to the reluctant interface unit.

"They were... ah... all four were destroyed."

Asahi's eyes instantly widened, filling quickly like a valley below a straining dam, and she clapped her hands over her mouth as it fell open with a gasp. "N-no!"

"I see," Nomori said at length. "This is serious, then."

Washuu glanced, arms crossed, to the display. "What's all this about statues, Lord Takebe? We're a little bit out of the loop."

Nomori seemed to steel himself before continuing.

"The four holy beasts, wood sculptures, were the gift I gave to my dear wife—Asahi's mother—and our last remembrance of her."

He paused, as the girl struggled to control herself.

"I'm sorry— but please, go on," Washuu prompted, well aware of the incompleteness of his answer.

"Yes," the master sculptor added at length, gritting his teeth and audibly choking on his own emotion. "Since it must surely have been revealed by now, I may as well tell you what Asahi did not know: that the statues were also the final lock guarding the Hou family's secret files. How this outlaw knew all of this..."

Washuu glanced to the side, partly to avoid watching Nomori's almost comically dramatic display, and partly to clear her head for more constructive thought.

_We've been getting played, she thought. We've been getting played from the beginning. At any step along the way, he could have easily avoided running into us and gotten what he'd come for, but he wanted us here. But what does he want us for now? Even though he must know we can't let him run off and do as he pleases with those files, I still need answers, damn it. But if he wants us to keep following him, there must be a clue..._

Still halfway embedded in her thoughts, Washuu's eyes followed a flash of white to rest on Asahi once more; or rather, the handkerchief in her hand. The scientist paused only briefly as possibilities clicked together in a whir—just long enough to form a satisfied smirk.

"Where did you get that handkerchief, Lady Asahi?"

Asahi froze up, eyes gone wide with the rush of embarrassment ambushing and overrunning her grief. That reaction answered Washuu's question better than words.

"I had a feeling. Could I see it for a moment? Here, come and get a good whiff of this, Ryo-Ouki. We've got a pirate to track down."

* * *

"So this is the place, huh? Snazzy. Well, in a 'wow, that sure is a big tree' kind of way."

Mushima regarded the feathered hat and the head upon which it rested, silently wishing for the opportunity to mount both on a wall, but he knew his brother Hishima's will, and so restrained himself. Slung haphazardly over the pirate's shoulder like a sack of potatoes was an octagonal box larger than a man's torso, clutched by a set of heavy cables which protruded from one end.

"It's a little morbid, though," Takeo continued, gesturing demonstratively to the ancient tree entwined in machinery and tubes which climbed it like massive synthetic vines. "You might try stringing up Christmas lights, maybe a bit of tinsel. Liven the place up a bit."

Hishima ignored their eccentric guest's inanities as he led them. Fanning out from the tree's base was a platform housing sophisticated apparatus greatly surpassing even Galaxy Police technology.

"Here," Hishima said, stopping within a few meters of the trunk, where a chamber opened at their feet. "Place the Book of Secrets in here, and you will meet our master."

Takeo glanced sidelong at Hishima, a serious expression passing over his face for the first time since the three brothers had met him; but it was gone just as quickly, and he smirked lazily.

"That's the trouble with galactic society, these days. There's no trust among honest criminals. But sure, I guess I can be the one to make a gesture of good will."

Shaking his head, he shrugged the massive box off his shoulder and set it down into the compartment. Instantly, the compartment grew cables which grafted to the severed lengths dangling out of the box, and electricity arced briefly across connections knitting together like regenerating tissue. After the briefest pause, the box was drawn down into its intended recess, and a panel snapped over it with a harsh metallic _KANG_.

"I hope I won't be kept waiting," Takeo commented idly as he glanced about at the technology-embraced tree, and drew a bottle of rum from under his coat, waving it about in front of Mushima's masked face. "I only brought the one bottle for a deal-closing celebration."

"Rgh..." Mushima commented, twitching.

"No," Hishima replied, "not long."

Even as he spoke, gossamer strings of coruscating light shone from the tree, impinging on the walls of the chamber and rebounding. Within a matter of seconds, the tree split open at the base, gushing fluid from an internal compartment.

_That's interesting_, Takeo thought as he watched somberly. _That's very interesting._

The three brothers—Takashima, Hishima and Mushima—all knelt in one motion, leaving Takeo to clutch his rum.

"At last," said Hishima, cowl-shrouded eyes downturned as a very slight feminine form pulled itself from the newly opened cavity, covered only with electrodes and compact vital signs support equipment. All of it together scarcely constituted a decent bathing suit.

"Well," Takeo commented. "Professor Lolita, I presume?"

The girl stopped suddenly and glared with feral eyes, giving her hair a quick shake to uncover large, beastlike ears.

"What- who the hell is this joker!" she snarled in a tone of fury and self-possession belying her appearance.

"He is-" Mushima began—and then in a blur, snatched the brim of Takeo's hat and tugged it down over his eyes. "Insolent! How dare you look upon Master Yume!"

"Gah! Cut that out!" Takeo growled, shoving at Mushima's mask. "It's not like there's anything there to see, anyway!"

Yume stood, dripping and twitching.

Ignoring the wrestling match behind him, Hishimi knelt and offered a towel, his concealed eyes averted. "You'll catch cold, Master—"

Yume snatched the towel in one hand, whisking it around herself; in the same motion, her other hand struck Hishima squarely on the side of the mask which protruded from his hood. The ongoing struggle in the background stopped abruptly as Hishima was sent skidding across the floor.

"Idiot!" she spat fiercely. "What were you thinking, changing the plans and bringing in outsiders? Mushima, Takashima, destroy him!"

Takeo chuckled at the command, despite its casually disdainful tone, and shook his head absently as the two cloaked figured advanced on him from behind.

"You really don't want to do that."

It was precisely the indifference of his response that gave the shrouded brothers pause.

Yume almost snarled at the contravention. She paid no heed as Hishima stood once again at her back, loyal as ever despite the large, jagged, shadowed gap at the side of his mask.

"No, I think they really do."

Takeo shrugged dispassionately in response.

"Your loss."

Mushima growled, but held in place, looking to Yume for orders.

Her feral eyes twitched in frustration.

"Spit it out. Who the hell are you, and why should I let you live?"

"Captain Takeo Kobayashi, number one most wanted pirate in the galaxy," he answered, flashing a fanged grin and sweeping his coat back with a flourish. "And you should let me live for two reasons. First, because I'm here to offer my services; and second, because the moment your cyberninjas there attack, the electromagnetic grenade I placed inside the Hou Book of Secrets will discharge. Same if your systems try to disassemble or infiltrate it."

Yume gazed fiercely at him, as though on the verge of strangling him with her towel.

"Heh," she replied, instead, smirking. "And you're the one who delivered the Book to my servants, eh? Well, I suppose you might be worth the trouble of changing my plans. Maybe. What is it you're hoping to get out of it?"

Takeo glanced at Mushima and flashed an 'I told you so' grin, then faced Yume and bowed flamboyantly. "I guess I can't claim to be a simple man with simple needs, at this point, Professor Yume. So here's what I want. It's your plan to take over the second-generation tree Bizen, here, right? We both know that between this tree and the Hou Book of Secrets, the whole Juraian fleet will fall under your control. As for myself, all I ask is to select whichever Holy Tree I want, and keep it. That's a fair enough price, don't you think?"

"Hmnh. Bartering in Holy Trees?" Yume gazed at Takeo studiously in brief silence—and then laughed.

"Hahahahah! Now _that's_ what I call irreverence! All right, fine. You can have a Royal Tree as payment; and you can make sure my servants keep things going according to schedule."

"But Master—" Mushima began, but silenced himself immediately as Yume continued.

"—since they don't seem so great at following orders, lately," she added, shooting a scornful glare at the cloaked figures who stood by quietly, torn between penitence and outrage.

"Excellent," Takeo answered, drawing the bottle of rum from his coat once again and thumbing toward Mushima. "Then we'll celebrate while he goes and takes care of the ship that's probably on an approach vector about now. You can do that, right Mu-shi?"

Mushima fumed, one wickedly taloned hand twitching with the half-suppressed impulse to rip the pirate open.

"I don't take orders from lying—" he began, but cut himself off immediately as his brother suddenly lifted his head.

"He's telling the truth," Hishima stated in his usual calm. "There is indeed a ship approaching the system."

"Damnit," Yume growled. "I know exactly who's coming, then—and we need more time to launch Bizen. Mushima! Destroy them or delay them at any cost. You other three, prep to launch. We need to be off the ground before Washuu gets here."

* * *

Stars swung past Ryo-Ouki, belying the ship's impossible speed as she followed the course which she had discerned by methods so scientifically dubious that even Washuu refused to expound on them.

Ryoko stood watching the pinpoints of light drift by around them.

"Well," commented Washuu from beside her daughter, "you sure managed to get yourself in a mess today, didn't you."

"Oh, shut up!" growled the veteran pirate, glaring with embarassment. "I almost had him!"

Washuu rubbed at her forehead impatiently.

"What you almost _had_ is your thick head blown off."

Ryoko growled and glared.

"And you scared the hell out of Tenchi, too," the scientist added, shaking her head, and continued when Ryoko softened—just as anticipated.

"That was just too stupidly reckless; you could have been killed. If he didn't have a sense of humor and a gun loaded with paint, you would have been killed."

"I got by just fine for the last few thousand years without your advice, so I'd say I can make it at least a few more."

"Tut tut," Washuu scolded with a hand dramatically poised at the side of her head, eyes closed, in the scientifically ascertained stance perfect for exhibiting maternal dismay. "You really don't understand the motivations of a mother, do you?"

"Maybe that's because I never had one," Ryoko shot back.

"Is that so?" Washuu glanced up at her infamous daughter with just one eye opened so as to minimize the disruption of her pose. "Perhaps it's time I bring out the baby pictures, if that's how you're going to be about it."

Ryoko recoiled in horror. "W- what! You're lying!"

"Am I?" Washuu replied, that one eye daring the pirate to risk it.

"My, my," interrupted Aeka's voice in an imploring tone. "Could we see these pictures, Washuu? I'm sure they're absolutely darling."

Ryoko spun to unleash rage on the princess, but stalled with embarassment on realizing Tenchi was there, as well. "Eeh- when did you get here!"

"They followed me up here, actually," Washuu answered calmly, undistracted when Ryoko collapsed with exasperation. "And perhaps later, Lady Aeka, but we have more pressing concerns at the moment."

"Oh? But Miss Washuu-" Tenchi started.

"I said before", the scientist interrupted, "it's just 'Washuu.'"

"—err. Right, sorry, Washuu," he continued. "But I thought we were tracking Takeo successfully."

"We are. But I'm worried we're running into a sticky situation, if he's doing something with the secret files."

"What ever do you mean?" Aeka inquired. "I know that they contain a great deal of valuable information regarding the Holy Trees, but surely the villain could not sell them and escape so quickly."

"Valuable information?" Washuu echoed as an overstuffed wicker basket seat rose from nowhere and tilted back to let her recline, arms folded behind her head. "Well, that's an understatement."

"Eeh?" Aeka murmured in confusion.

"Sure, those files contain all kinds of information on the Holy Trees. But keep in mind, the Holy Trees are the lynchpin of the Jurai Empire's power; and the files are also rumored to hold a lot of data from which one could extrapolate a means of subverting the spirit of a Holy Tree."

"But- that means-" Aeka stammered, eyes widening.

"Exactly," Washuu continued. "It means those files have the potential to upset the balance of power throughout this galaxy—even the entire allied universe. And the pursuit course we're on is taking us in the direction of the planet Jurai."

"You mean he's planning to steal a Tree from Jurai itself!" Tenchi exclaimed in disbelief.

Ryoko growled, clenching a fist.

"That— that copycat! That's what I wanted to do!"

"He did say he's a Daetirian."

"Huh?" Tenchi blinked bewilderedly at Washuu's comment. "Wait, how did you know he said that? And what is a... what... you said?"

Washuu tapped at the side of her head. "Constant connection to Ryoko. I've seen and heard both of her run-ins with him. And to answer your other question, here."

Washuu held a book embossed "Encyclopedia of Rare and Unusual Aliens" out toward the three of them.

"I've been doing a little reading up," she explained, opening the book to the Ds and presenting it. "Here's the Daetirian entry. Originating in a neighboring galaxy, Daetirians have a natural ability of mimicry, including physical appearance and unique powers, although they need at least several hours to assimilate the things they 'learn.' They're exceptionally rare, but very long-lived. It certainly explains a lot, doesn't it?"

Tenchi contemplated the encyclopedia entry. "So... that sword of his was copied from Ryoko?"

"Damnit!" Ryoko growled, twitching with frustration and rage. "And my teleportation and everything else, too!"

"It looks that way," Washuu answered as she put the book away once again, and looked out the window.

_But still, I've got to wonder—_

Washuu blinked at a white spot which appeared—at least, to her eyes, made impossibly acute through millennia of focusing all her massive cognitive potential on the sciences—to be drifting out of synch with with stars around it and visibly blue-shifted.

_Strange. Objects in normal space shouldn't be blue-shifted; but something moving at relativistic speeds toward us within altered space—_

The spot of light began to shed its blue-shift and expand quickly.

"Damn!" Washuu cursed, and braced herself.

Aeka blinked in surprise at the exclamation. "Washuu? What seems—"

The princess was interrupted and knocked clean off her feet as Ryo-Ouki shook with a massive impact, letting out a plaintive _myaaaa_ and flashing red alert lights in the cabin.

"What!" Ryoko growled in reply. "An unknown ship!"

Washuu scowled, but calmly hopped down from her cushion and started walking.

"Uh-" Tenchi stammered, in the midst of helping Aeka to her feet. "Where are you going, Miss Washuu?"

"I _told_ you— nevermind. 2,735 to 2 against, the intruder will be trying to board Ryo-Ouki from the starboard of the observation dome. We ought to be there to greet whoever or whatever it is."

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
